Japan Presses U.S. to Scrap 25％ Auto Tariffs as Ishiba Refuses Partial Trade Deal; No Deal Without ‘Total Rollback’
The government decided Saturday to continue to press the United States to review its extra tariffs on Japanese automobiles during bilateral talks aimed at scrapping the Trump administration’s tariff measures.
Washington has excluded automobiles and other key items from the scope of the talks. In response, Tokyo has insisted that it will make no concessions as it presses for a complete overhaul of each of the duties imposed Saturday, including those on auto parts.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on the day met at the Prime Minister’s Residence with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa, who had just returned from the second round of ministerial talks in the United States, and instructed him on the government’s next steps based on the outcome of the talks.
“There is still a wide gulf between [Japan’s and the United States’] positions, and no common ground has emerged,” Ishiba told reporters after the meeting. “We are [pushing to negotiate] all the tariffs, including those on automobiles, steel and aluminum.” Ishiba also called the new duties on auto parts “extremely regrettable” and said Japan would “continue to demand that they be reversed.”
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/politics-government/20250504-252640/