{"id":33301,"date":"2025-07-08T10:51:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T10:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=33301"},"modified":"2025-07-08T10:51:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T10:51:27","slug":"japan-business-accuses-tokyo-of-mistake-in-us-trade-talks-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=33301","title":{"rendered":"Japan business accuses Tokyo of \u2018mistake\u2019 in US trade talks strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\"><span>Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=7c57353b-dc6e-4e85-91f1-a463deb03b83\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>The head of one of Japan\u2019s most powerful business lobbies has accused the government of a \u201cmistake\u201d in its trade negotiating strategy with the US, after President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Washington\u2019s closest Asian ally.<\/p>\n<p>Takeshi Niinami, chief executive of Suntory and chair of the influential Japan Association of Corporate Executives, said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/japan\" data-trackable=\"link\">Japan<\/a>\u2019s insistence on a total exemption from Trump\u2019s tariffs may have left the US president feeling \u201cbetrayed\u201d, adding that the country could have secured a 10 per cent base tariff had its negotiators shown more flexibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey underestimated the determination of Trump,\u201d Niinami told the Financial Times on Tuesday. \u201cThey thought time was on Japan\u2019s side. It was a big mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that Tokyo was now on a weaker footing and could be forced into making major concessions to secure a deal. Niinami added that there was a narrowing window to make that deal ahead of an upper house election this month, when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba\u2019s ruling Liberal Democratic party risks losing its grip on power.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt could be too late,\u201d said Niinami.<\/p>\n<p>Japan was quick to initiate negotiations this year in hopes of securing relief from Trump\u2019s tariffs with a fast-track deal. But the US president on Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/613678ac-2e61-436b-9d0f-2a8f85a20dee\" data-trackable=\"link\">unveiled a 25 per cent tariff<\/a> on the country \u2014 one percentage point higher than initially announced in April \u2014 after talks failed to make headway. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"n-content-image n-content-image--full\" data-component=\"image-set\"><picture><source media=\"(min-width: 700px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Affaf742b-2d0c-4f17-a6a4-97f65577381e?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Affaf742b-2d0c-4f17-a6a4-97f65577381e?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3Affaf742b-2d0c-4f17-a6a4-97f65577381e?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=700&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"2290\" height=\"1527\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 490px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A05fc6d75-1e1f-4b29-8b41-04329f3ad8bf?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=1 1x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A05fc6d75-1e1f-4b29-8b41-04329f3ad8bf?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=2 2x,https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/ftcms%3A05fc6d75-1e1f-4b29-8b41-04329f3ad8bf?source=next-article&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;quality=highest&amp;width=490&amp;dpr=3 3x\" width=\"1527\" height=\"1527\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"n-content-picture__caption o3-editorial-typography-caption\"><span>Takeshi Niinami said Tokyo had squandered the legacy of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had achieved friendly relations with Trump<\/span><span> <!-- -->\u00a9 Kiyoshi Ota\/Bloomberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Niinami\u2019s unusually blunt comments came just hours after Trump outlined the new \u201creciprocal\u201d tariff levels on a range of US trading partners in Asia, including South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. The levies, which were previously frozen until July 9, are to come into force on August 1.<\/p>\n<p>HSBC said on Tuesday that Japan may find it hardest to offer further concessions. \u201cIshiba\u2019s ruling coalition is under immense pressure to protect auto exporters, rice farmers and other critical constituencies ahead of contentious Upper House elections on 20 July,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement followed weeks of seemingly fruitless negotiations between Tokyo and Washington, despite claims by both sides that progress was being made. Trump last week <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/90f10614-21af-4d81-ad14-52d30557c74b\" data-trackable=\"link\">accused Japan of being \u201cspoiled\u201d<\/a> for refusing to commit to buying more American rice or to allow US-manufactured cars into its market. <\/p>\n<p>Niinami said that Japan\u2019s stubbornness \u2014 including Ishiba\u2019s refusal to sacrifice the country\u2019s rice farmers to protect its auto industry \u2014 had squandered the legacy of the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who enjoyed warm relations with Trump during the US president\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump had high expectations of Japan because of Mr Abe, [and believed] Japan could become a showcase,\u201d said Niinami. \u201cWe needed to analyse that level of expectation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Japan has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/45d52534-00a1-42d5-be46-486cf34fcfb8\" data-trackable=\"link\">consistently demanded an exemption<\/a> from Trump\u2019s tariffs, citing the allies\u2019 \u201cspecial relationship\u201d. According to officials in the US and Japan, Tokyo\u2019s trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, who engaged in multiple rounds of phone calls and face-to-face meetings, was not given a mandate to concede some ground on tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>Niinami\u2019s criticism was echoed by David Boling, director of Japan and Asian trade at the Eurasia Group think-tank and a former US official who negotiated a trade agreement with Japan that took effect in 2020.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJapan badly miscalculated by taking a maximalist position that the US must eliminate all tariffs. That strategy was a fantasy,\u201d he said. \u201cIf Japan wants to reach a deal by August 1, it needs to be more pragmatic.\u201d <\/p>\n<aside aria-labelledby=\"aside-label\" class=\"n-content-recommended--single-story n-content-recommended--inset\" data-component=\"recommended\">\n<p class=\"n-content-recommended__title o3-type-body-highlight\">Recommended<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser o-teaser--article o-teaser--small o-teaser--stacked o-teaser--has-image o-teaser--opinion js-teaser\" data-id=\"d742fa39-e55e-4b76-b7f7-b8d40775d936\">\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-container js-teaser-image-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/d742fa39-e55e-4b76-b7f7-b8d40775d936\" data-trackable=\"image-link\" data-trackable-context-story-link=\"image-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-placeholder\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2400\/1350\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"o-teaser__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2F__origami%2Fservice%2Fimage%2Fv2%2Fimages%2Fraw%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%252Fproduction%252Fe605bc5c-016c-41aa-813b-393e7f764c9b.jpg%3Fsource%3Dnext-article%26fit%3Dscale-down%26quality%3Dhighest%26width%3D700%26dpr%3D1?source=next&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;dpr=2&amp;width=240\" alt=\"Mar\u00eda Hergueta illustration of a woman with her arms up in wonder, looking at yen coins flying over her head\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Akazawa spoke with US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick for 40 minutes on Tuesday, according to Japanese officials who said Tokyo\u2019s negotiator was \u201cpermanently ready\u201d to fly to Washington for further talks.<\/p>\n<p>Masakazu Tokura, chair of the Japan Business Federation, a rival business lobby group known locally as Keidanren, said in May that Japanese negotiators should take \u201ca prompt but measured approach by hanging tough, digging in and negotiating with a sense of resolve\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mitsunobu Koshiba, a director of several leading Japanese companies, suggested that Japanese groups had the ability to absorb the tariffs because of the weak yen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday I\u2019d be happy to take \u00a5145 in exchange for the tariffs,\u201d he said, compared with the level of approximately \u00a5110 per dollar during the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/7c57353b-dc6e-4e85-91f1-a463deb03b83\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}