Motegi: ‘Japan Should Make Proposals That Appeal to Trump’; Former Top Negotiator with U.S. Offers Negotiation Strategy

By Mai Fukuda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:09 JST, May 12, 2025

Former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said that Japan should make an elaborate proposal that appeals to U.S. President Donald Trump during bilateral talks over U.S. tariff policies, while firmly standing its ground to protect national interests.

The following is excerpted from an interview with Motegi conducted by Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Mai Fukuda.

When I met with economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa ahead of the ongoing bilateral negotiations with the United States, I advised him to first decide what issues to bring to the negotiation table — in other words, to set the scope of the negotiations. My idea of how to proceed with negotiations was as follows: Start with areas that both parties can easily agree on, build momentum towards an agreement and reach a comprehensive win-win deal.

A focal point of the current Japan-U.S. negotiations is the scope of U.S. revisions to the tariff policies. The United States basically wants to review only the additional reciprocal tariffs while Japan is trying to press the U.S. to review extra tariffs on products such as automobiles. Given the situation, a large gap currently exists between the two countries. The next ministerial-level talks will be crucial for future negotiations.

I believe that U.S. President Donald Trump is enthusiastic about his policy of imposing high tariffs on automobiles and other selected products because the tariffs are aimed at reviving the U.S. manufacturing industry. For Japan, however, if the tariffs on Japanese automobile imports are not revised, the Japanese economy will feel a significant impact. To protect our national interests, the Japanese government needs to be patient in the negotiations, make it clear that Japan cannot conclude the negotiations with an agreement to review only the reciprocal tariffs, and gain understanding from the United States.

What is important is to understand where Trump’s true interests lie.

When I was involved in trade negotiations with the United States during the first Trump administration, I carefully considered how to make proposals that would appeal to the president. The U.S. government was pleased when I proposed to designate as a tariff-exempt industrial product imports of bioethanol made from corn produced in U.S. states that were highly contested during the presidential election.

In the current negotiations, Japan needs to watch the United States’ responses closely and make such proposals as a new tariff system for automobiles and other products. For example, Japan could propose a system in which the more vehicles a country produces in the United States, the more preferential tax treatment it receives. The system would most benefit U.S. automakers but would also give certain advantages to Japanese automakers because the automakers produce more vehicles in the United States than they export from Japan. Such a system would also fit with Trump’s idea of encouraging production in the United States.

Japan should also assume that negotiations on reviewing automobile tariffs will take longer than those on reciprocal tariffs. To minimize the impact of the tariffs in the meantime, it is necessary to take measures to stimulate domestic demand. The introduction of a subsidy program to increase domestic demand for automobiles should be a top priority for discussions.

The United States’ inward-looking approach may not change greatly in the future. Therefore, Japan has to take advantage of this situation and shift from having an export-dependent economy to a new economic model driven by domestic demand.

Japan has played a leading role in various free trade frameworks, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. To maintain the involvement of the United States, the world’s largest economy, continuous effort is essential. Japan should deal with the imminent Trump tariff issue while pushing forward under the banner of free trade.

Toshimitsu Motegi

Motegi completed his master’s degree at Harvard University. He was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1993 and 10 more times since then. He has served as foreign minister, economy minister and economic revitalization minister, among other positions. During the first Trump administration, Motegi was in charge of bilateral trade negotiations with the United States, and Trump called him a “tough negotiator.” Motegi is 69 years old.