Japanese leader's 3-word warning to Trump as trade war ignites
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to have a "productive" conversation about tariffs after speaking Friday.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba made clear his intentions to U.S. President Donald Trump after agreeing to trade negotiations. Ishiba warned: "Investment, not tariffs."
The remark came after Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump had an informal phone call Friday, where the two accepted terms for having a "productive" conversation about tariffs.
President Trump slapped a 25% tariff on auto products, including Japan, which is home to many major car brands including Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota, all major economic drivers in the Asian country.
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While Trump has relaxed some of those tariffs, he has placed higher tariffs on steel and aluminum.
Japan hopes to push the Trump administration to drop all tariffs while pushing for Japanese investment in job creation in the U.S. to ease concerns about manufacturing job losses.
The discussion between Ishiba and Trump came after Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, returned from Washington, D.C. for a third round of talks with his U.S. counterparts about trade.
The agreement marks a turn in U.S.-Japanese economic relations as the U.S. has rejected all requests from Japan during previous discussions.
Ishiba doubled down on his previous position about tossing all tariffs in exchange for investing in U.S. manufacturing jobs. Trump officials have not indicated its stance.
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"I expressed my expectations for productive discussion to be held, and we agreed," Ishiba told reporters.
In addition to trade, the two leaders reportedly spoke about security cooperation and President Trump's recent visit around the Middle East, Ishiba said.
The Japanese leader also added that the two agreed to hold talks at the Group of Seven summit in Canada next month.
