U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the East Room at the White House on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty Images<\/p>\n
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday stateside announced that he had made the “largest Deal ever” with Japan, that involves “reciprocal” tariffs of 15% on the country’s exports to the U.S.<\/p>\n
In a post on Truth Social,<\/a> Trump also said that Japan will invest $550 billion into the United States, adding that the U.S. will “receive 90% of the Profits.”<\/p>\n Trump also said that Japan will “open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things.”<\/p>\n The U.S. president added that the deal would also create “Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs.”<\/p>\n Shortly after the announcement, Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, posted about the deal on X<\/a>, expressing “heartfelt thanks to everyone involved,” and “#Mission Accomplished,” according to a google translation of his remarks in Japanese. <\/p>\n Trump in a speech later said that Japan and the U.S. were also concluding an additional deal involving liquified natural gas. He also said that “we have [a] Europe [deal] coming in tomorrow,” without specifying any details.<\/p>\n “A year ago, that level of tariffs would be shocking. Today, we breathe a sigh of relief,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management, told CNBC.<\/p>\n In his tariff letter sent out to Japan earlier this month, Trump had threatened 25% tariff on its exports to the U.S. from Aug. 1, one percentage point higher from the 24% rate announced during his April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs.<\/p>\n Japanese automobiles imported into the U.S. already attract a\u00a025% tariff<\/a> in line with the rest of the countries. Auto exports to the U.S. are a cornerstone of Japan’s economy, making up 28.3% of all shipments in 2024,\u00a0according to customs data<\/a>.<\/p>\n This announcement comes just days after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s governing coalition lost its majority in the country’s upper house elections that had raised worries of undermining the country’s negotiating position.<\/p>\n HSBC said in a note Monday that “For Prime Minister Ishiba, a favourable U.S. trade deal could help stave off a no-confidence motion or internal challenge from the LDP [Liberal Democratic Party].”<\/p>\n