US, Japan agree on tariff talks amid spat

TOKYO — U.S. and Japanese officials agreed Monday to launch talks aimed at settling a dispute over American tariffs on imports of Japanese steel and aluminum.

The agreement came in a meeting between visiting U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, Koichi Hagiuda, Japanese officials said.

Japan hopes to convince Washington to lift tariffs imposed during President Donald Trump’s administration.

The U.S. recently resolved a similar dispute with the European Union in a deal officials said addresses excess capacity that can distort the steel market. It patched up a trans-Atlantic rift and is meant to create a framework for reducing the carbon-intensity of steel and aluminum production that contributes to the warming of the earth.

Trump ordered the extra tariffs, 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminum, in March 2018, asserting they would protect U.S. jobs and national security.

Hagiuda made it clear in the meeting that Japan wants the tariff issue “completely” resolved, in line with the World Trade Organization, trade and Industry Ministry officials said after the talks. Japan considers U.S. tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum imported from Japan as “problematic,” they said.

Raimondo responded to a request by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during a meeting Monday to scrap the extra tariffs on Japanese steel and aluminum exports to the United States by saying she planned to tackle the issue as a priority, the Foreign Ministry said.

Raimondo is expected to visit Malaysia and Singapore after Tokyo.