WASHINGTON—The Trump administration imposed an additional 15 percent tariff on all Japanese imports on Aug. 7, denying an exemption that the Japanese government has said would apply to certain products.
In a federal register dated Aug. 6, Washington listed what it calls modified reciprocal tariff rates for U.S. trading partners, showing that a 15-percent levy would be tacked onto existing tariff rates on all items from Japan.
A White House official told The Asahi Shimbun on Aug. 6 that the deal that was agreed to with Japan is a 15-percent reciprocal tariff.
“That is on top of any pre-existing MFNs,” the official said, referring to the most favored nation tariff rates, or normal non-discriminatory tariff rates charged on imports from other World Trade Organization members.
Japan has explained that its trade deal with the United States would exempt Japanese goods from the new reciprocal tariff if the existing tariff rates are 15 percent or higher.
The uniform 15-percent reciprocal tariff applies to all other goods that are subject to tariffs under 15 percent, officials said.
The federal register, however, showed that the exemption for goods with the existing tariff rates of 15 percent or higher will be granted only to the European Union.
The new reciprocal tariffs took effect at 1:01 p.m. on Aug. 7 Japan time.
Until now, the United States has levied a 10-percent reciprocal tariff on almost all trading partners, including Japan.
If the tariff exemption is not extended to include Japan, domestic beef exporters will be hard hit, for example.
Beef imports to the United States are subject to a 26.4-percent tariff. Japanese beef will be slapped with a 41.4-percent tariff without the exemption.
If the exemption is applied, the tariff will remain at 26.4 percent.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief trade negotiator, met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, one of his U.S. counterparts, for 90 minutes on Aug. 6 in the United States.
Akazawa, minister in charge of economic revitalization, called on Lutnick to confirm the terms of the Japan-U.S. agreement on the reciprocal tariff again and implement them immediately, according to the Japanese government.
It was unclear how Lutnick responded.
At a news conference in Tokyo in the morning of Aug. 8, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government will pursue the steady implementation of the Japan-U.S. agreement.
“We have confirmed with the U.S. side that there is no discrepancy between Japan and the United States,” he said. “We will continue to communicate at various levels between the two countries and strive for the steady implementation of the agreement.”
AloJapan.com