Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced that Japan will continue negotiations with the United States (US) to obtain a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries.
The statement was issued in response to President Donald Trump’s letter explaining that Japan and South Korea will be hit with 25% tariffs starting August 1.
Ishiba said that his party has accepted the US proposal to speed up negotiations before the new deadline of August 1, and the contents of the letter can be revised based on Japan’s feedback.
Although there was no agreement, the negotiations showed progress in helping Japan avoid the US tariffs of as high as 30-35% that Trump had previously proposed.
