Even After Sixth Tariff Talks... US Says "Excellent Meeting," Japan "No Predictions"

The United States and Japan held their sixth ministerial-level tariff negotiations in Washington, D.C. on June 13 (local time). As the two countries continue ongoing talks ahead of a bilateral summit scheduled to take place in Canada during next week's Group of Seven (G7) summit, subtle differences in their positions have become apparent.

According to NHK and other sources, Japan's chief negotiator, Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, met separately with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for negotiations on this day.

After the talks, Minister Akazawa told reporters, "With the G7 summit approaching, this is an important time," adding, "We held in-depth discussions to explore the possibility of reaching an agreement that would benefit both sides." When asked about the possibility of the two leaders reaching a tariff agreement during their bilateral summit at next week's G7, he said, "I will refrain from making any predictions," avoiding a clear answer.

Commerce Secretary Lutnick, when briefly encountering reporters as he left the negotiation venue, simply said, "It was an excellent meeting."

Officials are taking a commemorative photo after the US-Japan ministerial-level tariff talks. Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on June 13 (Japan time), President Trump and Prime Minister Ishiba held a phone call at Japan's request and agreed to hold a bilateral meeting during the G7 summit.

After the call, Prime Minister Ishiba told reporters, "I repeatedly conveyed our position that all tariff measures must be eliminated," emphasizing, "Our stance demanding the removal of tariffs remains unchanged."

The two governments have established the principle that the leaders will reach a broad agreement on tariff negotiations, and have recently accelerated ministerial-level talks ahead of the G7 summit, which both leaders will attend. The U.S.-Japan ministerial-level tariff negotiations have been held weekly for four consecutive weeks, but it appears that a final agreement has yet to be reached.

Thus far, the Japanese government has demanded a review of U.S. tariff measures and has put forward negotiation cards such as expanding imports of U.S. agricultural products, improving the automobile import system, and proposing cooperation in shipbuilding and economic security sectors.

However, from the outset, the United States has indicated that only discussions on the additional tariffs?imposed on top of the standard 10% mutual tariffs and differentiated by country (14% for Japan)?are possible, while expressing reluctance to negotiate item-specific tariff adjustments such as those on automobiles, steel, and aluminum.