Japan begins talks with US to sound out Trump tariff specifics

Japan began talks with the US to find out the details of President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariff measures, as the Asian nation braces for potential fallout.

Japanese Trade Minister Yoji Muto and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters Friday that Tokyo began communicating with Washington over the matter, after Trump ordered his administration to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners.

Trump has singled out Japan and South Korea as nations that he believes are taking advantage of the US, according to a White House official. In the past, Trump has attacked the US’s trade deficit with Japan, and yen weakness that feeds into that imbalance.

This time, Trump is taking aim at nations that impose higher tariffs than the US, while also taking into account non-tariff barriers that countries put on the US, including unfair subsidies, regulations, value-added taxes, exchange rates and other factors, according to a copy of a memo distributed by the White House.