Reference Message Network reported on May 3rd according to a report on May 2nd of the website of "Nihon Keizai Shimbun", the Japanese and American governments held the second round of tariff negotiations in the East Time Zone of the United States (the early morning of May 2nd in Japan). The Japanese delegation was led by Akira Akazawa, Minister in charge of Economic Revitalization, while the US delegation included Treasury Secretary Bessent, US Trade Representative Grier, and Commerce Secretary Rutnick. During the talks, Japan urged the US again to fully revoke the counter-tariff measures and special tariffs levied on products such as automobiles and steel-aluminum goods.

The report stated that the second round of negotiations took place at the US Treasury Building in Washington and began at 4:52 PM local time, lasting about two hours. As negotiation chips, the Japanese government plans to relax import restrictions on American-made cars, allowing more models manufactured according to US rather than Japanese safety standards to enter the Japanese market and considers relaxing collision safety performance testing requirements.

Japan also prepared negotiation chips such as expanding imports of American agricultural products like corn and soybeans and conducting technical cooperation with the US in shipbuilding to attend the meeting. It is reported that Japan has conveyed its intention: if the US commits to fully revoking tariffs, Japan is also prepared to propose these concessionary solutions.

Before the talks began, Akira expressed concern about a series of US tariff measures, stating that "(tariffs) are having a serious impact on Japan's economy." Before leaving for the US, Akira revealed that he had received an urgent appeal from senior executives of Japanese automakers - "losing up to one million US dollars per hour," showing the urgent expectation for reaching an agreement as soon as possible.

The report pointed out that it is difficult to predict future progress after the two rounds of negotiations. The US side is unlikely to easily give in on Trump's signature policy of tariffs. There are views within the Japanese government that "it may ultimately require a summit to decide."

According to reports, Trump adopted a posture of not rushing to reach an agreement. On April 30th, during an interview on an American media program, he said, "I'm not in a hurry to make deals with countries like Japan. We are in a favorable position. They need us, but we don't need them."

Bessent also clearly stated that for countries that failed to reach an agreement with the US within the 90-day grace period, the US would reinstate previous high tariff rates.

However, the US side also feels anxious. Multiple Trump's first 100-day presidential approval polls show that dissatisfaction with his economic policies among Americans continues to rise. The US economy fell into negative growth for the first time in three years in the first quarter of this year, which also put pressure on the Trump administration.

The report believes that the psychological warfare between the US and Japan to guess each other's cards may further escalate.

It is reported that on the morning of May 2nd, Japanese Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu responded to a question on a Tokyo TV program about whether "not easily selling US bonds could be used as a pressure tactic in Japan's tariff negotiations with the US" by saying, "As a negotiation chip, it exists." He also said: "There are multiple factors behind the recent 'three killings' of US stocks, US bonds, and the US dollar."

Kato emphasized, "We hold (US bonds) not to support the US, but to manage liquidity needed for intervention when necessary." He said, "Based on this premise, it is only natural to discuss all elements that can be used as negotiation chips."

Kato added, "Whether or not to play this card requires separate judgment."

According to data from the Ministry of Finance of Japan, as of the end of March, Japan's foreign exchange reserves reached $1.2725 trillion, mainly used for purposes such as foreign exchange intervention, with most of the securities assets being US Treasury bonds. Japan is considered the largest holder of US Treasury bonds. (Compiled/translated by Shen Honghui)

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7500139403508007475/

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