Japan invokes national interest as tariff talks with US struggle

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Wednesday he was determined to protect his country’s national interests as trade negotiations with the US struggled and President Donald Trump threatened even higher tariff rates on the Asian ally.“Japan is different from other countries as we are the largest investor in the United States, creating jobs,” Ishiba said in a public debate with opposition party leaders.“With our basic focus being on investment rather than tariffs, we’ll continue to protect our national interest while working to reduce the US trade deficit with Japan,” he said.Trump cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan, indicating that he could impose a tariff of 30% or 35% on Japanese imports — well above the 24% rate he announced on April 2 and then paused until July 9. Tokyo has yet to secure a trade deal after nearly three months of negotiations. (This is a Reuters story)