'At my direction': Trump says Japan will invest $550 bn in US as he announces trade deal

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday(local US time) unveiled what he described as a “massive” trade agreement with Japan, with tariff rates set at 15 per cent. He claimed the deal would bring $550 billion in Japanese investments to the US and introduce a 15 per cent reciprocal tariff.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the agreement also includes expanded trade access for American cars, trucks, rice, and other agricultural products.

“We just completed a massive deal with Japan, perhaps the largest deal ever made,” Trump wrote. “Japan will invest, at my direction, 550 billion dollars into the United States, which will receive 90 per cent of the profits. This deal will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, there has never been anything like it.”

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He added, “Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their country to trade – including cars and trucks, rice, certain agricultural products, and other items. Japan will pay reciprocal tariffs to the United States of 15 per cent.”

The announcement came shortly after Trump met Japan’s top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, at the White House on Tuesday.

While the 15 per cent tariff is lower than the 25 per cent Trump initially proposed, it goes against Tokyo’s earlier demand for a complete exemption from US tariffs. The new duties are expected to take effect from August 1, in line with other reciprocal tariffs Trump is rolling out against major economies.

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Uncertainty around the deal had grown earlier in the week following a major electoral setback for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the upper house elections.

It remains unclear whether the 15 per cent tariff will be compounded with Trump’s previously proposed 25 per cent levy on automobiles and 50 per cent duty on steel—two key export sectors for Japan and major sticking points in bilateral trade talks.