Trump announces trade deal with Japan that lowers threatened tariff to 15%

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump communicated a bargain framework with Japan on Tuesday placing a tax on goods imported from that nation This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs There has never been anything like it Trump posted on Truth Social adding that the United States will continue to constantly have a great relationship with the Country of Japan The president explained Japan would invest at my direction billion into the U S and would open its financial market to American autos and rice The tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the rate that Trump in a fresh letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba noted would be levied starting Aug Early Wednesday Ishiba acknowledged the new transaction agreement saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together With the announcement Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker even as his tariffs when initially stated in early April led to a sector panic and fears of slower expansion that for the moment appear to have subsided Key details remained unclear from his post such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher tariff that Trump imposed on the sector But the framework fits a growing pattern for Trump who is eager to portray the tariffs as win for the U S His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the import taxes and cause commerce imbalances to disappear The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies completely pass along the costs The concern was seen sharply Tuesday after General Motors broadcasted a drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead causing its stock to tumble As the Aug deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching Trump also released a contract framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of on its goods while American-made products would face no import taxes The president also reaffirmed his tariffs on Indonesia The U S ran a billion agreement imbalance on goods with Japan last year according to the Census Bureau America had a transaction imbalance of billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of billion with the Philippines Both nations are less affluent than the U S and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them The president is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his latest letters to other world leaders on Aug raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union At a Tuesday dinner Trump reported the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday for pact talks We have Europe coming in the day after the next day Trump narrated guests The president earlier this month sent a letter threatening the member states in the EU with taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on Aug The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is at present set to run through Aug as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional baseline Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts Bessent stated his goal is to shift the American financial market away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese business activity President Trump is remaking the U S into a manufacturing financial sector Bessent stated on the Fox Business Setup show Mornings with Maria If we could do that together we do more manufacturing they do more consumption That would be a home run for the global economic system