The United States and Japan have reached a trade deal to de-escalate trade tensions. President Donald Trump announced the deal on Tuesday evening in a social media post.
In a social media post Tuesday evening, the president wrote that Japan had agreed to open its country to imports of American cars, trucks, rice, and other agricultural products and invest $550 billion in the United States. In return, Japanese exports to the United States would be charged a tariff of 15%, lower than the 25% tariff he had threatened against the country’s products if Japan did not strike a deal.
Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday morning that he had received an initial report about the agreement from Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief trade negotiator, who is in Washington. “I will receive a report on the details in the future and examine them carefully,” Mr. Ishiba said.
In a social media post, Mr. Akazawa said: “Mission accomplished.”
Details of Agreement
Details of what both countries had agreed to were not immediately available, but an agreement with Japan would be the most significant of the preliminary trade agreements that the Trump administration has announced thus far.
Speaking in Washington on Tuesday night, the president said the United States and Japan had worked “long and hard” on the agreement and that it would be “a great deal for everybody.” He also said that administration officials would be meeting again on Wednesday with representatives from the European Union, as the bloc also tries to stave off steep tariffs that would begin Aug. 1.
“I was sitting there, screaming back and forth with Japan, and somebody said, ‘Can you imagine Biden doing this?’” Mr. Trump told a crowd gathered at the White House. “I don’t think so. There would be no negotiation. We’d just be ripped off, like we have been.”
Japan and the United States had struggled for months to reach a trade agreement. One reason for the slow progress was that Japan had been heading toward a national election, ahead of which voters indicated they did not want the country to make big concessions in pursuit of a trade deal. Those elections were held in Japan on Sunday.
Strengthening Ties
Without a deal, Japan had been facing the prospect of a 25 percent tariff on its exports to the United States beginning Aug. 1, which Mr. Trump communicated in a letter to the country earlier this month.
“This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Japan was one of the United States’ largest sources of imports in 2024, trailing only Mexico, Canada, China and Germany. It’s also a major export market for the United States.
President Trump also revealed Japan would be forming a joint venture with the United States in Alaska, related to a liquefied natural gas facility worth $44 billion plan called Alaska LNG that aims to ship natural gas from Alaska to buyers in Asia.
