Japan, U.S. in Final Talks on Trade Deal Before G7 Summit

Japan and U.S. hold sixth round of detailed trade talks in Washington.
Japan seeks exemption from 25% auto tariffs and looming 24% duties.
A possible trade deal may be finalized during the G7 Summit in Canada.

On Friday, Japan and the U.S. discussed the prospect of a trade agreement, top tariff negotiator of Japan Ryosei Akazawa told a briefing, without explaining the proximity of the two countries to a deal.

It will probably be the final round before Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to meet in Canada on the sidelines of the Group of Seven leaders’ summit, where Japan has been optimistically looking to seal an agreement.

"We had a very detailed exchange and explored the possibility of a trade agreement," Akazawa told reporters after he met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick separately in Washington in a sixth round of tariff negotiations.

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Akazawa declined to comment on whether the discussions have reached a stage mature enough to arrive at an agreement, by indicating that a deal can only be announced when the leaders of both nations give a thumbs up, as a package.

He also refused to give his opinion on the possibility of Ishiba and Trump coming to an agreement during their forthcoming meeting. Unless Japan is able to reach an agreement with the U.S., it will have to pay a 24 percent tariff rate beginning in July. It is also straining to come up with means to make Washington exempt its automakers of 25 percent duty on automobiles, which is the largest industry in Japan.