Meeting in Washington before the Takaichi-Trump summit
Japanese Economy and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa renewed his call on the United States not to impose higher tariffs than agreed during a meeting in Washington with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The meeting, which lasted about two hours, the Japanese media report, represents a key step in view of the summit between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and President Donald Trump, scheduled at the White House on March 19. At the center of the discussions is the 550 billion dollar investment plan that Tokyo has promised to allocate to strategic US sectors by January 2029, in exchange for a reduction in duties. Despite the recent US Supreme Court ruling invalidating the Trump administration’s global tariffs – replaced by a temporary provision of 10% set to rise to 15% – Akazawa has asked that Japanese imports not be subject to this new tightening, recalling the previously agreed upon special “non-cumulation” treatment. The parties confirmed their commitment to continued cooperation in strategic sectors such as energy, critical minerals and artificial intelligence, discussing the second round of joint projects after the launch of the first $36 billion investment block, which includes a gas-fired plant in the state of Ohio.
New projects under consideration include the construction of modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) suitable for powering data centers for artificial intelligence.
