Japan has formally asked the United States to ensure that the treatment it receives under a recently introduced U.S. tariff regime is no less favourable than what was agreed in last year’s trade deal, Japanese trade officials said on Tuesday. The request comes as Tokyo seeks to avoid disrupting relations ahead of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s trip to Washington in late March.
The concern stems from a temporary 15% duty that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on imports from all countries after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his earlier tariffs that were based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The 15% levy is the maximum allowed under a separate U.S. law, and the president has signalled that nations could face higher duties under other trade statutes if they step back from bilateral agreements with the United States.
On Monday, Japan’s trade minister Ryosei Akazawa spoke by phone with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The two agreed that the countries would carry out the trade deal reached last year "in good faith and without delay," according to the Japanese trade ministry.
Officials in Tokyo are cautious that some goods now benefiting from lower tariffs under the accord could see higher charges if the new 15% duty is "stacked" on top of existing levies. A trade ministry official noted that items currently subject to tariffs below 15% under most favoured nation status are those that could theoretically face increased duties under the new U.S. policy.
Akazawa said Japan had asked Washington to apply treatment that is equally favourable to that provided under the agreement concluded in July. That deal lowered tariffs on automobiles and other products to 15%, while Japan committed to a $550 billion package of loans and investment destined for the United States.
Japan has already agreed to finance a set of U.S. projects valued at $36 billion, which were unveiled last week as the first three initiatives to be supported by Tokyo. The projects include an oil export facility, a plant for industrial diamonds, and a gas-fired power plant.
Akazawa defended the overall tariffs-and-investment package as mutually beneficial, saying "It’s not that Japan was forced into a loss-making agreement," and describing it as a "win-win deal" in the face of shared economic security concerns such as dependence on Chinese rare earths. He added that he currently has no plans to travel to the United States for further trade negotiations.
Business groups in Japan reacted cautiously to the U.S. court ruling and the subsequent imposition of temporary duties. Yoshinobu Tsutsui, head of Japan’s largest business lobby Keidanren, told reporters the Supreme Court decision "proved checks and balances are in effect" and called it "positive for the economy overall," while warning that the new Trump tariffs raise risks for corporate investment, according to the Yomiuri newspaper.
Economic modelling cited by Japanese officials suggests there could be measurable effects if permanent tariffs are not implemented to replace the IEEPA-based levies. Takahide Kiuchi, an economist at Nomura Research Institute, estimated that Japan’s real gross domestic product would be higher by 0.375% annually if Washington does not put in place permanent tariffs to supplant the IEEPA measures.
Government sources in Tokyo said they would avoid reopening the agreement for renegotiation out of concern that doing so could provoke the United States into imposing harsher, sector-specific tariffs that are not affected by the Supreme Court ruling, with the auto industry cited as particularly vulnerable. With security considerations, including worries about China’s export controls, influencing Tokyo’s posture, officials said Japan intends to proceed under the existing deal to preserve stable ties with Washington ahead of the prime minister’s visit.
Summary
Japan has requested parity of treatment under newly announced U.S. tariffs compared with last year’s trade deal, seeking to avoid higher levies on exporters ahead of a key diplomatic visit. Tokyo stressed implementation "in good faith and without delay" while signalling it will not renegotiate the existing agreement to prevent possible retaliatory measures from the United States.