Economy News Baghdad
US President Donald Trump said after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday that the two countries hope they will have more to announce about a trade deal between them soon.
Trump said at a press conference with Shinzo Abe on Monday that the deal would help reduce the US trade deficit with Japan quickly. He said his goal was to remove trade barriers between the two countries so that US exports could have a fair chance in Japan.
Japan is trying to bridge the trade surplus gap with the United States by buying more US weapons and fighter jets and increasing its imports of US oil. Trump, who seemed comfortable playing golf with his counterpart Shinzo Abe, was very happy and his tweets were less of a threat to his foreign trips.
According to a US official, the US trade deficit with Japan last year was $ 56.8 billion, and Japanese car sales to the United States account for most of Japan’s trade surplus.
Trump’s visit to Japan comes amid tensions with Japan’s automaker Toyota due to possible customs duties on cars. Trump has repeatedly threatened Japanese and European car companies with fees.But Trump announced he had postponed the car fee decision to September, and US Trade Representative Robert Laitzer was to negotiate with Tokyo and Brussels on trade deals.
Trump doubled pressure on Japan since his arrival on Saturday, saying that “Japan has enjoyed a great advantage for many years,” and called on Japanese companies to increase investment in the United States. Trump said Japan was looking to buy dozens of modern US warplanes. “The United States supports Japan’s efforts to strengthen its defense capabilities and capabilities,” Trump said during a press conference with the Japanese prime minister.
In recent months, his country has accelerated the process of handing over a large number of US defense arms to Japan. “In 2018, Japan was among the major buyers of arms from the United States, and just announced its intention to buy 105 F-35 fighter jets,” he said.
The successful visit by the US president and the understandings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe boosted investors’ sentiment in the Japanese economy. Japanese shares closed higher Monday, but trading volumes were weak as US markets closed, while investors awaited details of trade talks between Japanese and US leaders United Nations.
The benchmark Nikkei closed up 0.3 percent at 21,182.58 points, hurt by mounting trade disputes between the United States and China. The index has lost 5 percent since the start of the month. In recent years, Japanese companies have raised their investments in China, although China remains a strategic threat to Japan.
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