BIG setback for Trump as Japan trade negotiator cancels US trip ahead of PM Modi’s visit due to…

The cancellation of Japanese envoy's US trip comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Japan on August 29-30.

US Japan Trade Deal: In a major setback for US President Donald Trump, Japan’s trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa cancelled a planned visit to the United States at the last minute on Thursday. The development comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan, his first standalone trip to the country in nearly seven years, as well as his first annual summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Why Japan negotiator cancelled US trip?

Akazawa was scheduled to travel to the US on Thursday, where he was to formalise confirmation of a $550 billion investment package offered by Japan to the US to ease the punitive Trump tariffs. The negotiator was scheduled to discuss financial details of the package, such as  the split of returns between the two countries, Reuters reported.

However, the visit was reportedly cancelled at the last moment, as Japan asserted that some points still needed to discussed at the administrative level with the US. “It was found that there are points that need to be discussed at the administrative level during coordination with the American side. Therefore, the trip has been cancelled,” Japanese government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi was quoted as saying.

Notably, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had also communicated about an announcement this week about Japan’s $550 billion investment.

What was Japan envoy’s visit about?

The Japanese negotiator’s visit was scheduled after the US and Japan had agreed to cutting import tariffs on Tokyo to 15 percent from the previous 25 percent following the latter’s pledge to invest $550 billion in the US.

Donald Trump had claimed that Japan’s investment package was “our money to invest, as we like”, stating that the US would retain 90 percent of the profits. However, the US President’s statement was rebutted by Japanese officials, who stressed that the investment would be subject to mutual benefits.

Additionally, Japanese officials have repeatedly asked for an amended presidential executive order to remove overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods before releasing a joint document on the investment details.

“We are strongly requesting that measures be taken to amend the presidential order concerning mutual tariffs as soon as possible, and to issue a presidential order to reduce tariffs on auto parts.” Hayashi said.

It has not been decided whether Akazawa will reschedule his US visit, according to Japanese media outlet, Kyodo News. However, as per a Reuters reports, the trade negotiator could travel to Washington next week.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Japan’s trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa cancelled his US trip at the last minute on Thursday.
• Akazawa was scheduled to visit Washington to work out details about a $550 billion Japanese investment in the US.
• Earlier, the US had agreed to cut tariffs on Japanese imports to 15 percent in exchange of the massive investment package.
• The development comes ahead of PM Modi’s visit to Japan.

PM Modi Japan visit

The cancellation of Japanese envoy’s US trip comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Japan on August 29-30. This will be PM Modi’s first visit to the Japan in nearly seven years, and will mark the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit.

The two leaders will hold discussions on various bilateral matters related to India-Japan relations and their strategic partnership, including the Quad.