Sawt Falasteen - Tokyo's tariff envoy says US talks 'constructive'

Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 percent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminum.

"We were able to move forward in frank and constructive discussions to reach a mutually beneficial agreement as soon as possible," Ryosei Akazawa told reporters.

"We were able to advance concrete discussions on, for example, expanding trade between our two countries, non-tariff measures and economic and security co-operation."

Akazawa said he had "strongly proposed" to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other officials a review of President Donald Trump's sweeping levies on trade partners.

Trump in early April announced "reciprocal" tariffs on Japan of 24 percent, but later put them on pause for 90 days along with those on other nations except China.

The next round of ministerial-level talks will "take place intensively from mid-May onwards," Akazawa said. Thursday's talks followed an initial meeting in mid-April.

Akazawa said any deal on tariff relief would be in the form of a package, which will be announced when finalized.

- 'Firmly defending' interests -

Trump has repeatedly called for a stronger yen to boost US exports, but foreign currency rates were not discussed on Thursday, Akazawa said.

The yen has risen significantly since Trump's tariffs were announced -- it was trading at 145 for a dollar, compared with 158 in mid-January.

Ahead of the second round of talks, Japanese media had said they could focus on automobiles and agricultural products, which Akazawa called "very important economic sectors."

"We have no intention of negotiating in a way that would be detrimental to the national interest, so we have been firmly defending what needs to be defended and saying what needs to be said," he said Thursday.

Akazawa added that he did not discuss China with the US officials, but said Japan has a "very strong trade relationship with China too."

"We will continue to monitor the developments in US-China relations, including the tariff measures against China, with great interest," he said.

Akazawa had told reporters at the airport on Wednesday that "Japanese companies are losing money each and every day" because of US tariffs.

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST