At the White House, leaders congratulate one another, but the president threatens to impose penalties on Japan if it doesn’t reduce the US trade imbalance to zero.
At their first meeting on Friday, US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba struck a cordial note, with Tokyo forgoing tariffs that Trump has imposed on other allies—for the time being.
At the White House, the two leaders showered each other with praise, promising to unite against Chinese “aggression” and claiming to have resolved a blocked deal for troubled US Steel.
However, Trump urged Ishiba to eliminate the US trade deficit with Japan and threatened to impose taxes on Tokyo’s exports if it didn’t.
As a self-described “geek” and admirer of the model warship, Ishiba has faced pressure to emulate Trump’s tight bond with former PM and golf pal Shinzo Abe.
Japan’s prime minister travels to Washington in the hopes of reestablishing the Trump-Abe relationship.
Continue reading
This was only the second foreign leader to visit during Trump’s new administration, but both leaders felt they had built a connection.
Ishiba told their joint press conference, “I was so excited to see such a celebrity on television in person,” adding that he wasn’t attempting to “suck up.”
He has a strong personality and is intimidating on TV. However, he was incredibly forceful and sincere when we actually met.
Trump called the 68-year-old Japanese prime “good looking” as they exchanged photos, which is usually one of the former reality TV star’s top compliments.
When Ishiba claimed he was unable to answer a “theoretical question” about whether he would react against any US tariffs, the US president laughed and remarked, “That’s a very good answer.”
Trump, on the other hand, stated that Nippon Steel of Japan would invest heavily in US Steel but would not acquire the struggling business as had been originally agreed.
Trump stated, “They’ll be looking at an investment rather than a purchase.” The transaction had been thwarted by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
Despite concerns that Trump may turn against Tokyo, as he has done with other US allies, the two leaders also strengthened their decades-old security and trade relations.
In a joint statement, Trump stated that they had committed to combating “Chinese economic aggression” and denounced Beijing for its “provocative activities” in the disputed South China Sea.
They also demanded that North Korea be denuclearized, despite Trump’s claims that he sought “relations” with Pyongyang after meeting with Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader, during his first term.
Trump’s statements of support were backed by Japan’s pledges to increase its purchases of US defense equipment and to spend $1 trillion in the US.
Ishiba declared that his nation will increase its expenditures and was the largest investor in the United States.
Ishiba, who smoked cigarettes and talked softly, had hurried to Washington in an attempt to soften the blow of Trump’s “America first” policy.
ome of Trump’s harsher inclinations, such unexpected trade conflicts and demands to boost financial commitments for housing US troops, were avoided by Japan under Abe.
Days after Trump won his first election, Abe rushed to give him a golf club that was plated in gold. In December, Trump also invited Akie, Abe’s widow, to dinner at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
The US president has imposed tariffs on China thus far and imposed them on Canada and Mexico before putting a one-month hold on them.
Additionally, he promised to impose duties on the European Union and stated on Friday that he will reveal “reciprocal tariffs” of an undisclosed nature the following week.
