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2025 April 9 - 15 TOP3 [POLITICS]

Yamazoe questions the amount of trade deficit that US uses as basis for calculating tariff rate on Japan

Japanese Communist Party lawmaker Yamazoe Taku, at a meeting of the House of Councilors Foreign Affairs Committee on April 10, questioned the amount of U.S. trade deficit with Japan that the U.S. Trump administration uses as a basis for tariff rate calculations on Japan.

Yamazoe pointed out that President Trump only looks at trade in goods and claims that the U.S. has a deficit in manufacturing even though it has a surplus in digital and other service sectors, and that the U.S. side ignores the fact that its trade deficit in total with Japan is decreasing.

He asked if the government has told the U.S. counterpart that the calculating formula used is flawed.

Foreign Minister Iwaya Tekeshi answered, “As you pointed out, Japan’s digital deficit with the United States is substantial, and GAFAM (Google and other giant U.S. IT companies) have enjoyed surpluses throughout the world. I will emphasize this point firmly in negotiations with the U.S. side.”

Yamazoe referred to a statement USTR Jamieson Greer made at a Senate hearing held on April 8 in regard to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy that the USTR is seeking to “have more and better agricultural market access” through Japan-U.S. tariff talks.

Yamazoe said that Japan has already made a number of concessions in liberalizing import of beef, oranges, and rice. He warned that the Trump tariff “would destroy Japanese agriculture and make Japan give up what’s left of its food sovereignty,” and demanded that Japan voice its opposition to the tarrifs being imposed by the United States.

He said, “Japan should not take a servile attitude of asking the United States what Japan should offer in order to be excused from the tariff rate that has no basis in reality,” and urged the government to firmly reject the U.S. demand to further open up the Japanese agricultural market and should seek a retraction of the unreasonable U.S. tariff measures.

Past related articles:
> JCP EC Chair Tamura: Japan should demand retraction of ‘Trump tariffs’ [April 5, 2025]
> JCP EC Chair Tamura: Trump’s 25% auto tariff policy represents failure in US-led free trade system [April 3, 2025]