Japan's Iwaya seeks exemption from US additional tariffs
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on Thursday requested that Japan be exempted from the additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that US President Donald Trump's administration has introduced.
Iwaya made the request during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, held for some 35 minutes in Charlevoix, Canada.
Rubio, however, did not give an immediate response, only saying that the relationship between Japan and the United States is extremely important.
At the meeting, Iwaya expressed regret that the additional tariffs were imposed despite Japan's repeated requests to the United States for an exemption.
He also demanded that Japan be exempted from the additional tariffs on automobiles that Trump has decided to introduce, as well as from reciprocal tariffs that the United States may introduce with the aim to match the level of tariffs imposed by its trading partners.
Iwaya and Rubio confirmed that they need to deepen the Japan-US alliance in order to respond to increasingly complicated international affairs.
They also exchanged their opinions on the situation in Ukraine and Palestine.
The two were in the Canadian city to attend a conference of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major democracies.
Iwaya also held talks with his counterparts--David Lammy from Britain, Antonio Tajani from Italy and Melanie Joly from Canada--respectively, agreeing to work closely together on the situation in Ukraine.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
Photo by Reuters
