The Trump administration announced July 23 some details of a new trade and investment agreement to be negotiated with Japan.
A White House fact sheet states that under this agreement U.S. imports from Japan will be subject to a baseline 15 percent tariff rate, down from the 25 percent that President Trump had threatened to impose beginning Aug. 1. That language suggests that there will be different tariff rates on some products, but no further details have yet been provided.
The fact sheet adds that Japan has agreed to take the following market-opening actions.
- immediately increasing imports of U.S. rice by 75 percent
- purchasing $8 billion in U.S. goods, including corn, soybeans, fertilizer, bioethanol, and sustainable aviation fuel
- purchasing U.S.-made commercial aircraft
- purchasing “additional billions of dollars annually” of U.S. defense equipment
- lifting longstanding restrictions on U.S. cars and trucks
- approving U.S. automotive standards “for the first time ever”
- further opening its market for a range of industrial and consumer goods
In addition, the fact sheet states, Japan has pledged to invest $550 billion that will be targeted toward the revitalization of the U.S. strategic industrial base, including energy infrastructure and production; semiconductor manufacturing and research; critical minerals mining, processing, and refining; pharmaceutical and medical production; and commercial and defense shipbuilding.
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