MUNICH, Feb 16 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Saturday that he asked his United States (US) counterpart, Marco Rubio, for Japan to be exempt from President Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25 per cent steel and aluminium tariffs and reciprocal tariffs, Kyodo News Agency reported.
In a brief exchange on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany, Iwaya also expressed his desire to hold security talks involving the two countries' foreign and defence ministers “at an early date,” according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
The exchange was held to follow up on a meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Trump at the White House on Feb 7, where the two agreed to pursue a “new golden age” of bilateral relations and pledged cooperation in the fields of defence, the economy, technology, and other areas.
The ministry said in a press release that Iwaya and Rubio “confirmed that they will communicate closely to further strengthen Japan-US economic relations.”
In this context, Iwaya “lodged a claim” regarding the tariff measures imposed by the US government, the press release said.
On auto tariffs, which Trump said the administration will roll out around April 2, Iwaya told reporters that he “raised questions” with Rubio about the measure.
Trump, who took office on January 20, has announced a series of tariff measures as part of his “America First” agenda, based on his belief that they will save many US industries and help the country cut its trade deficits.
On Monday, Trump signed proclamations to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, due to take effect on March 12.
He also signed a document on Thursday to introduce reciprocal tariffs, which would raise the import taxes the United States charges on certain products to match what other countries impose on US goods crossing their borders. On the following day, he said he would roll out tariffs on imported cars.
The US is a major trading partner of Japan, which exports a variety of products such as cars and electronics. Japan reported an 8.64 trillion yen (US$57 billion) trade surplus with the United States last year, according to Japanese government data.
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
