US To Release Trade Deal Documents With Japan, South Korea Within Weeks

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- The United States (US) government plans to release official documents on recent trade deals with Japan and South Korea within weeks, Kyodo news agency quoted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Tuesday.

Lutnick’s comment followed the United States’ failure to properly implement a trade deal with Japan after President Donald Trump’s country-specific tariffs took effect on Aug 7 under the “reciprocal” levy scheme.

Asked about the timeline in a CNBC interview, Lutnick said officials are working on the written documents “every night and every morning” and that they are “weeks away,” without giving further details.

Japanese officials said Trump’s trade team has acknowledged that a presidential executive order on the reciprocal tariffs was erroneous and did not fully reflect the July 22 deal. The team has promised to amend the directive.

Because of the issue, imports from Japan are not yet receiving tariff stacking relief on the 15 per cent rate.

Under the deal, Japanese goods with existing tariffs of 15 per cent or higher were to be exempt from additional duties, and levies on other items capped at 15 per cent.

The Trump administration had confirmed Japan would receive the same exemption as the European Union (EU), which signed a similar trade deal days after Tokyo, but did not specify when it would be applied.

In exchange for Japan’s pledge to invest in the US, the tariff rate was lowered to 15 per cent from the 24 per cent Trump initially set in April.

Trump’s team said Japan would invest US$550 billion in the US under the president’s direction, targeting sectors tied to national security and competition with China, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals.

Japanese officials explained the figure represents a combination of investments, loans and guarantees involving government-backed institutions.

They stressed that Japanese companies will still decide on US investments based on business interests.

Lutnick said during the interview, “We’re on the same page” with Japan.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO