Tokyo : Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that his government will not include discussions on security in its trade talks with the United States, while President Donald Trump has called for reducing the U.S. burden in defending Japan.
“I don’t think it is appropriate to discuss security and trade together. We should address security issues without linking them to tariffs,” Ishiba said on a TV program, days after his close aide met with Trump and senior U.S. officials on the recently increased levies.
Ishiba also said he believes that cutting the U.S. trade deficit with other countries is Trump’s top priority, pledging to review Japan’s automobile regulations to move forward negotiations with the United States.
“We will work hard to ensure that Japan is not accused of being unfair,” Ishiba said, but he did not elaborate on other key issues such as foreign exchange rates and Tokyo’s holdings of U.S. Treasurys.
On when to conclude the talks, Ishiba said, “They must produce a desirable outcome for both sides. We want to take the necessary time to create a model for the world.” He reiterated that he would visit the United States “at the most appropriate time.”
As for the liberalization of agricultural markets, Ishiba said his government is aiming to strike a balance between the distribution of affordable, high-quality products and the protection of domestic producers, whose numbers have declined amid a falling birthrate.
Ishiba, meanwhile, said Japan, as a leader in free trade, will bolster cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the European Union, while expressing concern over the negative impact of the U.S.-China tit-for-tat tariff escalation.
Last Wednesday, economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief negotiator for tariff talks with the United States, met in Washington with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The Japanese government is also arranging a meeting between Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato and Bessent on Thursday in the U.S. capital, a source close to the matter said, with foreign exchange issues possibly on the agenda.
Bessent, a billionaire who worked as a hedge fund manager, previously voiced his readiness to tackle foreign exchange challenges, as Trump accuses other countries of currency manipulation and implementing policies that lead to imbalanced trade.
Kato is expected to visit Washington to attend a two-day gathering of the finance chiefs of the Group of 20 economies starting Wednesday, which will be held on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
BY: The Times Union – KYODO
