Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Saturday that he plans to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump over the phone “within the next week” to discuss the president’s decision to slap Tokyo with onerous tariffs.

Speaking on a television program, Ishiba indicated that while his government is moving quickly to “find a time that is convenient for both sides,” these talks would not involve small deals that might buy Japan time.

“We can't do it piecemeal,” he said. “We have to make it one set, one package, one story — or it won’t have any impact.”

On Wednesday in Washington, Trump laid out new tariffs on goods on almost all of the United States’ rivals and allies alike. Japan was hit with 24% levies — a rate that would potentially devastate the domestic economy. Tokyo has been lobbying for an exemption and expected the rate would be far lower than what Trump signed off on.

Trump had already hit Japanese automobiles and auto parts with a separate 25% duty, although the reciprocal measures announced will not apply to these products.

Asked about the possibility of Japan hitting the U.S. — its security guarantor — with retaliatory tariffs, Ishiba ruled that idea out.

“We have all sorts of options, but what will happen to the global economy if we both impose retaliatory tariffs?” he said.

“I have no intention of engaging in tit-for-tat rhetoric,” he added.

Isihiba also emphasized that since previous attempts to secure an exception to the U.S. measures by contacting Cabinet-level officials had failed, speaking directly to Trump was a must.

“Only Mr. Trump can make the final decision,” the prime minister said.

Ishiba’s government has been working on possible ways to counter the effects of new U.S. tariffs and support affected industries, with the prime minister saying Friday that the measures had triggered a "national crisis."

”We must call this a national crisis,” Ishiba told the Lower House on Friday. “The government will do its utmost to respond to this crisis, involving the entire country.”

The government has rolled out a number of measures aimed at shoring up affected industries following Trump’s tariff announcements. It is seeking to deliver cash and advice as quickly as possible to the exporters hardest hit to at least tide them over until Japan’s negotiations with the U.S. bear fruit.

The trade ministry has established a task force to coordinate a response to the tariffs, and the government has set up over 1,000 consultation desks at government-affiliated financial institutions and business organizations nationwide to field tariff-related inquiries.