Japan has asked the United States to ensure that Tokyo will not be disadvantaged under Washington’s latest tariff measures, with Japanese officials urging that a possible 15% tariff should not be applied to goods from Japan, the country’s trade minister said on Friday.
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa said he raised the issue during a two-hour meeting in Washington with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Akazawa spoke to reporters after the talks.
The discussion comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in February struck down several of President Donald Trump’s key tariffs. In response, Washington introduced a new blanket tariff of 10%, which could potentially rise to 15%, creating fresh uncertainty about global trade arrangements and the tariff levels importers may face.
Akazawa said both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the trade agreement reached last year, which set a base tariff of 15% on most Japanese imports. That agreement reduced tariffs from 27.5% on automobiles and avoided an earlier threat of a 25% tariff on many other Japanese goods.
“We asked that Japan’s treatment under the new tariff framework should not become less favorable than what was agreed last year,” Akazawa said, noting that the new blanket levy could otherwise increase costs for some Japanese export products.
He declined to reveal how U.S. officials responded to the request.
Akazawa added that the meeting also covered several projects linked to Japan’s pledge to invest $550 billion in the United States, along with discussions on cooperation in energy and critical minerals. The talks come ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s planned visit to Washington on March 19.
Previous reports have indicated that Japan and the United States are considering including a nuclear power project involving Westinghouse in the second phase of investment initiatives tied to the broader tariff agreement.
Last month, the two countries announced the first set of projects under the investment plan, totaling about $36 billion. These initiatives involve offshore drilling, natural gas production and synthetic diamond development.
The U.S. Commerce Department later said on social media platform X that Lutnick and Akazawa met to discuss strengthening economic ties following last month’s investment agreement, though the statement did not mention tariff issues.