Ishiba says no talk with Trump on vehicle tariffs at top
Trump acknowledges Japan's US big financial investment, job creation
LNG, steel, AI and vehicles are areas Japan can purchase US
Nippon Steel will operate under US management, staff
Japan will not raise defence costs without public assistance
TOKYO, bytes-the-dust.com Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed optimism on Sunday that his nation could prevent greater U.S. tariffs, saying President Donald Trump had actually "acknowledged" Japan's huge financial investment in the U.S. and setiathome.berkeley.edu the American tasks that it produces.
At his first White House top on Friday, Ishiba informed public broadcaster NHK, he explained to Trump the number of Japanese car manufacturers were creating jobs in the United States.
The 2 did not specifically go over auto tariffs, Ishiba said, although he said he did not understand whether Japan would undergo the mutual tariffs that Trump has actually said he plans to trouble imports.
Tokyo has so far got away the trade war Trump released in his first weeks in office. He has revealed tariffs on items from Canada, wavedream.wiki Mexico and China, although he delayed the 25% tasks on his North American neighbours to enable for talks.
The intensifying trade stress because Trump returned to the White House on January 20 threaten to burst the worldwide economy.
Ishiba said he thinks Trump "acknowledged the fact Japan has actually been the world's biggest investor in the United States for five straight years, and is for that reason different from other countries."
"Japan is creating many U.S. tasks. I believe (Washington) will not go straight to the idea of higher tariffs," he said.
Ishiba voiced optimism that Japan and the U.S. can avoid a tit-for-tat tariff war, stressing that tariffs need to be put in location in a manner that "advantages both sides".
"Any action that makes use of or leaves out the other side will not last," Ishiba said. "The concern is whether there is any issue in between Japan and the United States that necessitates imposing greater tariffs," he added.
Japan had the greatest foreign direct financial investment in the United States in 2023 at $783.3 billion, followed by Canada and Germany, parentingliteracy.com according to the most recent U.S. Commerce Department data.
Trump pressed Ishiba to close Japan's $68.5 billion yearly trade surplus with Washington but revealed optimism this could be done rapidly, provided a pledge by Ishiba to bring Japanese financial investment in the U.S. to $1 trillion.
On Sunday, Ishiba identified melted gas, steel, AI and automobiles as areas that Japanese companies could purchase.
He also discussed Trump's pledge to take a look at Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel, rather than buying the storied American company - a planned purchase opposed by Trump and obstructed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
"Investment is being made to make sure that it remains an American business. It will continue to operate under American management, with American staff members," Ishiba said. "The bottom line is how to ensure it remains an American business. From President Trump's point of view, this is of utmost value."
On military spending, ai another location where Trump has actually pressed allies for boosts, Ishiba said Japan would not increase its without very first winning public support. "It is essential to ensure that what is considered necessary is something the taxpayers can comprehend and support," he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara: Additional reporting by Tim Kelly
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Japan pM Ishiba, after Meeting Trump, Voices Optimism Over Averting
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