[By Guancha Observer Network, Xiong Chaoyi] After US President Trump announced the so-called "reciprocal tariff" on April 2nd, the US side drew up a list involving 18 major trading partners for subsequent negotiations.
However, The Wall Street Journal noticed on May 18th that, except for quickly reaching an agreement with the UK and just reducing tariffs with China, all other negotiations conducted by the US side so far have failed to make breakthrough progress, unable to alleviate the pressure brought by high import tariffs, especially it is more difficult to reach agreements with so-called "long-term allies".
For some of the largest target objects on the list, such as Japan, South Korea, and the EU, a thorny issue is automobiles. So far, the US has been reluctant to reduce the 25% import car tariff, which has hit these allies particularly hard. Even though the UK did manage to secure a lower car tariff rate in the rapidly concluded agreement with the US, this only applies to the first 100,000 cars imported annually, far below the annual export volume of British car manufacturers to the US.
The report mentioned that Japan was the first country to begin negotiations with the US, and officials hope to reach an agreement as soon as possible. In the past, Trump often mentioned his friendship with former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who passed away, while current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was one of the first global leaders to visit the White House after his inauguration. Unlike China, Japan did not retaliate against Trump's tariff threats, and Shigeru Ishiba has always been careful to avoid publicly criticizing Trump.
"The Japanese are very cautious and do not want to embarrass Trump," said Shihoko Goto, a researcher at the Mansfield Foundation, a U.S. think tank. Yorizumi Watanabe, president of Toyo Women's University and former senior trade negotiator for Japan, said that Japan is one of the countries most susceptible to U.S. pressure. "Japan may be (viewed by the U.S. as) the easiest country to negotiate with because we are completely dependent on the U.S. market and defense."
On May 1st, Beisente and Akira Akazawa held US-Japan negotiations in the United States. Kyodo News
On April 2nd, Trump announced the "reciprocal tariff", imposing rates of 24%, 25%, and 20% on Japan, South Korea, and the EU respectively. A few days after announcing the new tariffs, the White House ordered a suspension of most new tariffs for 90 days, but the car and steel tariffs remained in effect. Since then, negotiations began to seek better terms.
According to reports, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan stated in their financial reports this month that tariffs affected their profit expectations, and data released last Friday showed that Japan's economy contracted in the first quarter, highlighting its vulnerability to declining exports.
Akira Akazawa, Japan's Minister of Economic Revitalization and chief trade negotiator, said that Japan is still seeking to cancel all tariffs recently imposed by Trump, including car and steel tariffs, as well as the 10% benchmark "reciprocal tariff," which he described as "deeply regrettable."
South Korea is also seeking tariff exemptions. Last Friday, Jeong In-jae, Director General of the Trade Negotiation Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Resources, met with U.S. Trade Representative Greer on Jeju Island. Minister Woo In-soo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups pointed out that the South Korean automotive parts industry provides approximately 330,000 jobs, and she recently promised to provide support to minimize losses.
Several trade officials from EU member states said they would push for a better agreement than the one reached between the UK and the US. In the agreement reached between the UK and the US, most goods are still subject to tariffs. Michał Baranowski, Deputy Minister of the Polish Ministry of Economy, said: "I don't think Europe will be satisfied with such a level of agreement."
Yorizumi Watanabe believes that Japan is cautious about "making too many concessions" in negotiations. During Trump's first term, Japan signed a trade agreement with the US in 2019, reducing tariffs on some American agricultural products like frozen beef and pork, while the US reduced tariffs on some Japanese goods like machine tools.
Trump's imposition of a series of new tariffs indicates that, in the eyes of this US president, he believes the agreement reached with Japan in 2019 lacks binding force, just as he abandoned the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement negotiated during his first term.
This shift by the Trump administration has also caused pain domestically in Japan. Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, said in an interview: "Even assuming that we reach a new agreement based on a win-win relationship, it is important to reiterate that this time the US side will fully comply with the rules."
Some trade experts say that as a condition for concessions, Japan could propose increasing imports of American cars and aligning its car safety standards with those of the US. Japan might also suggest purchasing more corn and other agricultural products, including rice, which was excluded from the 2019 negotiations. Additionally, Japan's shipbuilding expertise can help the US Navy and revitalize the long-dormant US shipbuilding industry, which is a top priority for Trump.
The Wall Street Journal noted that besides tariffs, there are other obstacles. Analysts pointed out that some of America's trading partners may resist two demands: one is to ease economic ties with China, and the other is to agree to their own currencies appreciating against the dollar. However, the agreement reached between China and the US in Geneva has freed up space for the Trump team to turn to negotiations with other countries.
On May 14th, Nikkei Asia reported that as progress was made on tariff issues between the UK and the US, and China and the US, Japan is increasingly concerned that its trade negotiations with the US may take longer, making it difficult to seize the negotiation advantage.
A Japanese source involved in the US-Japan negotiations said: "The progress of UK-US and China-US negotiations has been faster than expected. Currently, China-US negotiations are likely to be given priority." The report stated that Japan is concerned that if China becomes the top priority for US negotiations, Tokyo may be squeezed out of the limited negotiation schedule.
Previously, Japan had been optimistic about the US-Japan negotiations, partly due to the US-Japan alliance. Treasury Secretary Beisente said in April this year that he expected "Japan to be given priority consideration."
However, now, the US side seems to expect that negotiations with Japan will take a long time. "You have to spend a lot of time dealing with Japan and South Korea; these agreements will not be reached quickly," Commerce Secretary Lutnik said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on May 8th.
"Different countries are in different positions and situations, so their negotiation timetables and agreement contents will naturally differ," Akira Akazawa, Japan's Minister of Economic Revitalization and chief trade negotiator, insisted on May 13th when facing reporters: "The US considers us extremely important. My understanding is that this has not changed."
However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on the same day: "I have always been focused on transactions in Asia, where China is obviously the largest. We have had very productive discussions with Japan." He added that progress across Asia "has been very smooth."
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Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7506066503524024867/
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