自動車じどうしゃ関税かんぜい引ひき下さげへ 日にち米べいで合意ごういした投資とうしに関かんする文書ぶんしょに署名しょめい

Regarding the U.S. tariff measures, Minister for Economic Revitalization Akazawa, who is visiting Washington, signed a document on investments from Japan, agreed upon between Japan and the U.S., together with Secretary of Commerce Latnick.

He is expected to explain the contents of the document and other details to the press afterwards.

The White House announced that President Trump has signed an executive order, based on the recent Japan-U.S. agreement, which includes measures such as reducing the additional 25% tariffs on automobiles and other goods to a combined rate of 15% with the existing tariffs.

Following this, Minister Akazawa, who is in charge of economic revitalization and is currently visiting Washington, entered the U.S. Department of Commerce shortly after 6 a.m. Japan time.

And then, just after 7 a.m. Japan time, together with Secretary of Commerce Ratnick, he signed a document regarding the investment from Japan that was agreed upon by both Japan and the United States, and they shook hands.

Minister Akazawa is expected to explain the contents of the signed document and other related matters to the press later.

Regarding U.S. tariff measures, agreements reached in Japan-U.S. negotiations, such as lowering tariffs on automobiles, will be realized during Minister Akazawas 10th visit to the United States.

The Ishiba administration and the Trump administration will build an extremely special partnership, he said.

After the signing, Director Ratnick and Minister Akazawa shook hands.

Under the leadership of President Trump, the trade agreement between the two countries was officially implemented by executive order.

The agreement will strengthen the economic relationship between the two countries, support American workers, and ensure engagement in a golden era of prosperity and cooperation under President Trump.

The White House announced that President Trump has signed an executive order, based on the recent Japan-U.S. agreement, which includes measures such as reducing the additional 25% tariffs on automobiles and other goods to a combined rate of 15% with the existing tariffs.

The Trump administration had agreed in the recent Japan-U.S. agreement to lower additional tariffs on automobiles and other products, but since no specific timeline was indicated, the Japanese government had been urging for prompt implementation.

According to Reuters, the new tax rate will be applied seven days after the publication of this presidential decree.

Additionally, tariffs on a wide range of Japanese items have been uniformly increased by 15% since the 7th of last month, without reflecting the Japan-U.S. agreement. However, the presidential order also stipulates that no additional tariffs will be imposed on items that already had a tariff rate of 15% or higher.

This measure will be applied retroactively to the 7th of last month, based on the Japan-U.S. agreement.

Of these, in the field of agriculture, the Japanese government will increase rice imports from the United States by 75% within the framework called minimum access, a system under which Japan is required to import about 770,000 tons of rice annually without tariffs.

It also includes the import of American agricultural products such as corn and soybeans worth 8 billion dollars per year, which is approximately 1.18 trillion yen.

Regarding automobile imports, it is stated that passenger cars produced in the United States and meeting safety standards will be allowed to be sold in Japan without additional testing.

On the other hand, it states, What is decisive is that the Japanese government has agreed to invest more than $550 billion in the United States, emphasizing that this will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in America.

He also added that the U.S. government will select the investment destinations.

This agreement also emphasizes its significance in creating a level playing field for American producers, establishing a tariff framework that takes national security into account, reducing the U.S. trade deficit, and revitalizing the economy.

That’s why it’s considered to be a positive thing.

Regarding tariffs imposed on a wide range of items other than the automotive sector, known as reciprocal tariffs, the presidential order also reflects the content of the recent Japan-U.S. agreement, and in this respect, it also meets the requests of the Japanese side.

On the other hand, regarding investments in the United States that the American side has requested, the total amount is said to be about 550 billion dollars, or approximately 80 trillion yen.

Also, although it will be necessary to confirm the details, it is basically included in line with the previous agreement that, within the framework known as minimum access, Japan will import about 8 billion dollars approximately over 1 trillion yen worth of agricultural products annually, including an increase in imports of American rice.

By clearly committing to such investments, Japan has finally managed to implement the July U.S.-Japan agreement in the form of an executive order.

Think tanks in Japan have repeatedly pointed out that real GDP, or gross domestic product, will be pushed down, and the impact on the domestic economy is unavoidable.

Minister Akazawa had previously expressed concern about the impact on the automobile industry, which is one of Japans core industries, stating that “depending on the company, losses are piling up at a rate of 100 million yen per hour, amounting to 1 or 2 billion yen per day,” indicating that the effects of the tariff measures are becoming evident.

Many officials say that the Trump administration plans to impose high tariffs on sectors such as semiconductors in the future, and that it is necessary to carefully assess the potential impact.

The government is considering including new tariff measures in the process of drafting next fiscal years budget. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has already incorporated support measures for expanding business sales channels into its budgetary requests, and a major challenge will be to mitigate the impact on the Japanese economy.

It was clearly stated in the latest executive order that Japan has agreed to invest 550 billion dollars in the United States.

In addition, regarding Japan’s importation of American agricultural products to help reduce the U.S. trade deficit, the framework known as minimum access also includes measures such as increasing imports of American rice.

It is believed that the decision to sign the executive order was made because it was determined that a certain response had been obtained from the Japanese side to that request.

Bessent, the Treasury Secretary, also stated that the implementation status of investments from Japan based on the agreement will be evaluated quarterly, suggesting that the United States will continue to encourage Japan to invest and that Japan will be required to respond accordingly.

The Trump administration has also indicated plans to impose new tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, so it will likely be necessary to remain vigilant about the possibility of further expanding the scope of tariffs.

On the other hand, attention is focused on the decisions of the American judiciary regarding the Trump administrations tariff measures.

On the 29th, the U.S. federal appeals court supported the lower courts decision that measures such as the reciprocal tariffs imposed by the Trump administration exceeded the authority granted to the president and were therefore invalid and illegal.

It is reported that the Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The tariff measures will remain in place until the Supreme Court issues its decision, but since judicial rulings can have a significant impact on tariff policy, we need to pay close attention.

Tariff Negotiations: Background In response to U.S. tariff measures, Japan-U.S. negotiations were held intensively from April to July this year, with Economic Revitalization Minister Akazawa visiting Washington.

In his first visit to the United States in mid-April, Minister Akazawa held talks with President Trump at the White House, followed by meetings with three cabinet members: Treasury Secretary Bessent, Commerce Secretary Latnick, and USTR United States Trade Representative Representative Greer.

I continued to visit the United States frequently after that, and at times, we held ministerial-level discussions for four consecutive weeks.

In June, during the G7 Summit held in Canada, Prime Minister Ishiba and President Trump held a summit meeting and agreed to instruct the relevant ministers to further advance discussions.

In his eighth visit to the United States in late July, Minister Akazawa met with President Trump following meetings with other cabinet members. They agreed that Japan would invest $550 billion approximately 80 trillion yen in the United States, and that the U.S. would lower its tariff rates.

The reciprocal tariffs, which were supposed to be set at 25% from August 1, have been settled at 15%, and tariffs on automobiles and auto parts have also been finalized at 15% including the existing rates.

However, it was later discovered that the agreement regarding reciprocal tariffs was not reflected in the presidential decree.

Minister Akazawa made an urgent visit to the United States in early August, where he confirmed with cabinet members that measures would be taken to promptly amend the executive order and that an executive order to lower tariffs on automobiles and other goods would be issued at the same time.

And the Japanese side has requested the American side to revise the presidential order regarding reciprocal tariffs and to lower tariffs on automobiles and other products as soon as possible, and working-level adjustments have been ongoing.