Japan tariff negotiator held in-depth talks with Lutnick, Japanese government says

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(From right) Japans Economic Revitalisation Minister Ryosei Akazawa poses with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington on May 1.

PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO/BRIDGEWATER, New Jersey - Japan’s tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held “in-depth exchanges” over the phone with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on July 3 and July 5, the Japanese government said.

A pause on a 24 per cent reciprocal tariff on imports from Japan expires on July 9, although US President Donald Trump has suggested the rate could be even higher.

The Japanese government also said in a statement that it intends to continue actively coordinating with the US side on the matter, as it worked to avert higher tariffs.

The White House declined to comment on the report, referring only to Mr Trump’s recent comments on Japan.

Mr Trump this week hammered Japan over what he said was Tokyo’s reluctance to import US-grown rice, and accusing Japan of engaging in “unfair” autos trade.

Japan has in fact imported historically high volumes of US rice in recent months as domestically grown rice has skyrocketed in price since last year.

It was unclear if Mr Trump would make good his pledge to skip further trade negotiations with Japan and send it a letter with a specific tariff rate, on top of the 10 per cent already in effect on most trading partners. On July 4 he said he