28.08.202506:04:12UTC+00Japan Scraps U.S. Tariff Talks Trip Over Pending Issues

Japan’s leading tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, unexpectedly canceled his planned trip to Washington on Thursday, just before he was set to leave. The Cabinet Secretariat announced the cancellation, explaining that Akazawa needed to address “certain items” that required attention at a working level beforehand. Akazawa was expected to advocate for a reduction in U.S. tariffs on Japanese automobiles, following a handshake agreement made on July 22, and to negotiate modifications to an executive order to ensure that "reciprocal" tariffs would be calculated in a way more favorable to Japan. Reports also suggested that he aimed to finalize Japan's pledge to invest USD 550 billion, a promise made during the negotiations as a concession aimed at securing tariff concessions. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned on Tuesday that an agreement concerning the pledge would be announced later this week.