New ‘Reciprocal’ Tariffs Imposed: Put Japan-U.S. Agreement in Writing and Implement It

Editorial

15:33 JST, August 8, 2025

Discrepancies have emerged regarding the content of the agreement reached between Japan and the United States in their tariff negotiations.

In order to ensure the steady implementation of the agreed-upon items, it is necessary to ask the U.S. side to make a written commitment, rather than just a verbal promise.

On Aug. 7, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration imposed new “reciprocal” tariffs that set new rates on about 70 countries and regions, including Japan. The rate for Japan, South Korea and the European Union, among others, is 15%, and Syria has the highest rate at 41%.

According to the Japanese government’s explanation, it had agreed with the U.S. government on the following special provisions: For items with a preexisting tariff rate of less than 15%, the total rate including the reciprocal tariff would be set at 15%; for items with a preexisting rate of 15% or more, the reciprocal tariff would not be applied.

If this is the case, the 7.5% tariff rate on textiles should now be set at 15%, and the 26.4% on beef should be unchanged.

However, both the executive order signed by Trump and the Federal Register document dated Aug. 6 only mention the EU as being the subject of the special provisions. The fact that Japan is not mentioned is a problem.

If the special provisions have not been applied, the 15% is being added uniformly, causing the tariff rate on textiles to jump to 22.5% and that on beef to 41.4%, which will have a widespread impact and cause serious damage to the economy. The Japanese government should demand that Trump modify the executive order at an early date.

Another concern is that the timing of the reduction in the tariff rate on automobiles, which is of the utmost importance to Japan, has not been decided.

Since April, a high tariff of 27.5%, including the basic tax rate, has been imposed and is the primary factor behind the worsened performance of automobile companies. The hope is that the Japanese government will step up efforts to ensure that the reduction to 15% will be realized as soon as possible.

Trump has indicated his intention to impose a tariff of about 100% on semiconductors and high tariffs on pharmaceuticals, too. The Japanese government expects both to be 15% for itself, but given the current circumstances, it cannot feel at ease.

The Japanese government has explained that it did not create a joint document when the Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations were agreed upon because it had prioritized reaching an agreement early.

However, given the growing public anxiety over the implementation of the agreement, the government must ensure the U.S. side’s commitment to it with a written document.

There is also a striking difference in perception regarding Japan’s $550 billion (about ¥80 trillion) in investment in the United States, which was the core of the Japan-U.S. agreement.

Trump has repeatedly stated that the U.S. side can use the funds at its own discretion, likening them to “a signing bonus” that a baseball player would get. However, the Japanese side’s position is that the amount represents a broad framework of financial support.

Economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa has met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. It is hoped that they will communicate closely with each other so that the gap between the two countries will not widen any further.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 8, 2025)