Tariffs to stay on steel, aluminum, at least for now
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The U.S. and Japan said Wednesday they’ve agreed to start talks to develop what President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe described as a new “free, fair and reciprocal” trade deal between the two countries following two days of talks.
But the leaders said they had failed to reach a deal that would exempt Japan from new U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, as Abe had wanted.
“If we can come to an arrangement on a new deal, that would certainly be something we would discuss,” Trump said during a joint news conference at his private Mar-a-Lago club. But he said the current trade deficit between the two countries is too high for him to offer an exemption now.
Most other key U.S. allies — among them Australia, Canada, the European Union and Mexico — already have been granted exemptions to Trump’s protectionist measures on steel and aluminum.
The U.S. trade deficit with Japan last year was $56.1 billion, according to the Department of Commerce. Trump said he was working to reduce that imbalance and pushing to remove barriers to U.S. exports.
“We’re committed to pursuing a bilateral trading relationship that benefits both of our great countries,” he said.
Japan has previously voiced reluctance to a bilateral trade deal with the U.S.
Trump also made clear that he has little interest in rejoining negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal unless the terms are dramatically altered.
“While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers.”
Trump pulled the U.S. out of TPP days after his inauguration but recently said he might be open to rejoining.
During Abe’s two-day visit, Trump appeared to be seeking to reassure him of the pair’s close alliance as the president prepares for a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and Abe spent Wednesday morning golfing at one of Trump’s nearby courses in their latest show of “golf diplomacy.”
The Trump-Abe summit has played out amid growing tensions between the two countries over North Korea and trade. Japan has raised concerns that the U.S. might press Kim only on long-range missiles that could hit the mainland United States — and not on the short- and mediumrange missiles that pose an immediate threat to Japan.
The talks came amid news that CIA Director Mike Pompeo had recently traveled in secret to North Korea to meet with Kim ahead of a U.S.-North Korea summit planned in the next two months.
Trump on Wednesday confirmed the visit in a tweet, saying “a good relationship was formed” heading into their anticipated summit.
“Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!” Trump wrote.
Abe did secure a commitment from Trump to raise with Kim the issue of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.
Pyongyang has acknowledging abducting 13 Japanese, while Tokyo maintains North Korea abducted 17. Five have been returned to Japan. North Korea says eight others died and denies the remaining four entered its territory.
The U.S. itself is pushing for the release of three Americans.
Trump’s decision to send Pompeo to North Korea reflects the president’s trust in and comfort with Pompeo, and how diplomats were sidelined in brokering what could be a landmark encounter between Trump and Kim.
Pompeo, nominated by Trump last month as secretary of state, is still awaiting confirmation to his new post and faces a challenging vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where several Democrats have come out against him. The White House and Republicans seized on Pompeo’s trip as another reason for the Senate to confirm him, while Democrats said he had misled them by failing to disclose his mission, even in private conversations.