Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa spoke with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick by phone, requesting that Washington's new tariff measures not put Japan at a disadvantage compared to previous bilateral agreements.
According to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry on the 24th, Akazawa conveyed this position during a roughly 40-minute call with Lutnick that began at 10:30 p.m. the previous day. Both sides reconfirmed their commitment to faithfully and swiftly implementing the agreement reached last year.
The officials welcomed the recent formal announcement of three projects as the first phase under the $550 billion U.S. investment agreement: gas-fired power generation, crude oil export infrastructure development, and synthetic diamond manufacturing. They also agreed to cooperate closely to ensure smooth progress on these initiatives.
President Trump announced on the 20th (local time), following the Supreme Court ruling that deemed reciprocal tariffs unlawful, that he would raise the new global tariff from 10% to 15% under Section 122 of the Trade Act.