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Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top tariff negotiator, and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held a 30-minute phone call on Saturday. The Japanese government confirmed today that the two continued discussing a possible trade agreement. Akazawa also had in-person talks on Friday with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for around 70 minutes and with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for 45 minutes. Japan’s PM hopes to talk with President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 Summit The Japanese government described the talks on Saturday similarly to Akazawa’s Friday statement, terming the conversation as “very in-depth” and that the two parties explored the possibility of reaching an agreement that would benefit both countries. It added that their Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump could meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit starting Sunday in Canada, where they hope they can finalize a deal. The country is still in for a 24% tariff rate on their exports starting in July unless it can secure a deal with the US. Tokyo is also pushing to shield its auto industry from a separate 25% US levy. In earlier talks, Japan offered to increase imports of US agricultural goods and review its “non-tariff trade barriers” to American car sales to respond to the concerns of the Trump administration. In addition, the government is mulling to collaborate with the US to secure supply chains of rare earth magnets and semiconductors. So far, China is the primary producer of high-performance rare earth magnets. However, Japan hopes to promote building supply chains with the US without relying on China.  Often, rare earth magnets manufacture electric vehicle motors and missile devices. Regarding neodymium magnets, China produces more than 80%, while Japan accounts for only about 15%. The US has been scrambling for ways to deal with China’s dominance and…

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Filed under: News - @ June 15, 2025 6:13 am