Japan did not receive a promise to be exempted from the US steel and aluminum tariffs

On March 10, Eastern Time, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yoshiharu Muto, who was visiting the United States, held talks in Washington with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and others. Regarding the US tariffs on steel and aluminum products that will take effect on March 12, Muto believes that Japan will not be exempted either.

Muto held talks with Lutnick and Jamieson Greer, a representative of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and others. He said at a subsequent press conference that “we did not receive” a verbal promise to exempt Japan. Muto said: “I conveyed my intention to exempt Japan. But the two sides did not reach an agreement on the exemption issue.”