Catenaa, Tuesday, June 17, 2025- US and Japan have failed to reach an agreement on their trade deal at the G-7 summit, as the US tariffs have started to hit Japan’s economy.
Japan’s top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, told reporters that he explored the possibility of a deal in detailed meetings with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
US President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba appear not to be on the same page. Japan were keen to meet with Trump in Canada at the G-7 meeting and hoped to persuade him to drop tariffs, which have impacted Japan’s auto companies and affected the country economically.
“I will make every possible effort to reach an agreement that benefits both Japan and the United States,” Ishiba told reporters before leaving Japan. The timing of his meeting with Trump was still being discussed between the two countries, he added.
Ishiba said there are still some points on which the two sides are not on the same page, “so we have not yet reached an agreement on the trade package.”
“We will continue to actively coordinate with the United States to reach an agreement that is beneficial for both countries, without sacrificing Japan’s national interests,” the premier said after the meeting.
An agreement would have delivered concessions on some of Japan’s key concerns, including auto tariffs. If Ishiba were to have delivered a trade deal, it would have likely helped boost his leadership and government, which took a bashing last October in a national election, leaving him with a minority government.
According to Bloomberg, the fact that the two sides have failed to reach a deal could work in Ishiba’s favor as it shows he has the country’s best interests in mind, as opposed to rushing into a deal that may prove unsatisfactory.
