Japan signaled it wanted to lay to rest the threat of new auto tariffs before agreeing to a final trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump, after he left the door open for slapping levies on the nearly $50 billion sector.
Trump said he was not considering imposing punitive duties "at this moment," after he and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over the weekend announced an agreement-in-principle on trade, which they aimed to formalize in late September. The U.S. president kept the tariff threat alive by saying he could still impose the levies at a later date.
"I want to deal with this issue properly in the final stages of the trade negotiations with the U.S.," economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday when asked about the possibility of being hit with tariffs. "The U.S. side has also agreed to this."