Trump announces a commercial agreement with Japan, a country that imposes a 15% tariff on all its products | International

The president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on Tuesday night (Washington time) a “gigantic pact” with Japan, “perhaps the largest in history”, as defined in a message on his social network, Truth, a favorite vehicle of the Republican to make transcendental ads about the economic policy of the world’s first power. For that agreement, of which no more details are known – not much less, they have transcended documents – Japan takes a 15% tariff to all its exports to the United States.

In return, writes Trump, the Asian country “will invest 550,000 million dollars in the United States, which will receive 90% of the profits.” “This agreement will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, something never seen,” adds the president in his message in his classic hyperbolic style. “Perhaps the most important thing is that Japan will open your country to trade, including cars, trucks, rice and other agricultural products.”

On April 2, when Trump showed the world a table printed on a large cardboard to publicize the tariffs that he intended to impose dozens of his commercial partners, Tokyo fell a 24%tax. A week later, the US president suspended those rates and gave a period of 90 days that he was scheduled to expire on July 9 so that countries could sit down to negotiate with Washington. If it did not enter into force then it is because, a couple of days before, Trump announced an extension of the truce in its commercial war until August 1.

Before that, Tokyo had placed himself in Trump’s point, after he shaves his negotiating “hardness”. The president of the United States pressed them to increase their imports of rice from the United States and criticized the bilateral relationship in terms of car sales. The Republican also threatened with a tax of “30%, 35% or the amount we determine.”

Shipping cards

The week of July 9, Trump began a campaign to send cards to two dozen of its European Union, whose negotiations seem stagnant, among the pessimism of the EU capitals.

Japan was one of the first to receive his, which incorporated a 25% tariff (therefore, 1% higher than April). All correspondence interpelled countries received tariff threats similar or lower than those of April, except in four cases: Canada (35% for products not protected by the North American Free Trade Agreement, compared to the previous 25%) Mexico (30% now, again, for the products included in the TMEC; 25% before) and Brazil.

The Ibero -American country received full -fledged punishment, a 50%tariff, the highest so far, five times greater than the United States had awarded in April. The reason? Trump considers, and he communicated to President Lula da Silva, who are unfairly treating the ultra -rightist Jair Bolsonaro, whom the Republican considers a victim of “a witch hunt” by the trial to which he is being submitted for his alleged involvement in the failed coup d’etat of January 2023. Bolsonaro faces a maximum penalty of 43 years in prison.

Since the sending of that remittance of letters, only a commercial agreement had materialized until Tuesday, with Indonesia. The United States imposed a universal rate of 19%to Yakarta, in exchange for “total access” to its economy. Before that, and despite the promise of Trump’s administration to reach “90 pacts in 90 days” only two agreements were closed, with the United Kingdom and with Vietnam, and a truce with China. The Treasury Secretary is expected to meet with the Beijing negotiators on Monday and Tuesday in Stockholm.

The case of Vietnam is especially striking, in addition to indicating the dynamics of commercial, aggressive, volatile and elusive policies, of the United States. Trump announced three weeks ago that Hanói Avenia to remove all tariffs on US exports and to pay a universal tax of 20% and another of 40% to the products that come from China, making transford in Vietnam. This agreement has not transcended any document with details by either party confirming your signature.