US Maintains Tariff Position in Trade Discussions with Japan, USD/JPY Down 0.16%

Key Moments:

Decision Elusive in Bilateral Tariff Discussions

Throughout a current assembly in Washington, US commerce officers displayed reluctance to ease present tariffs on automobiles, metal, and aluminum, in response to a report from the Nikkei newspaper. The talks have been held on Thursday, and the Trump administration’s agency stance on the matter reportedly left Japanese counterparts involved concerning the prospects of forging nearer commerce ties.

Japan Presents Measures to Tackle Commerce Surplus

US representatives, amongst which was Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, launched a possible framework for a commerce settlement in discussions with Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s lead commerce negotiator, and different senior Japanese officers.

As outlined by Nikkei’s nameless sources, the Japanese delegation offered an outline of initiatives it plans to implement to cut back its vital commerce surplus with the USA. These included steps to reassess non-tariff boundaries on vehicle imports, together with initiatives to broaden imports of American agricultural merchandise.

USD/JPY Loses Floor

Having achieved a recent multi-week peak near the 146.00 mark earlier on Friday, initially extending its upward trajectory following Thursday’s 1.5% positive factors, the USD/JPY pair subsequently edged 0.16% decrease. The trade price is now hovering close to the 145.00 stage because the US greenback has been put beneath renewed stress. This pullback suggests a possible reassessment of market positions after the day past’s substantial positive factors.