Ishiba Speaks with France’s Macron, Malaysia’s Ibrahim; U.S. Tariffs a Shared Concern in Separate Phone Talks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:09 JST, April 17, 2025

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday shared concerns over the impact of U.S. tariff policy and China’s retaliatory tariffs on the global economy and the multilateral trade system in a 40-minute telephone conversation, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Ishiba also spoke by phone with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the issue on the same day. According to the ministry, Ishiba told Ibrahim that he “would like to listen intently to the voices of Southeast Asian countries.” Malaysia is this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.