U.S. and Japan promise quick resolution to difficult tariff talks

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have vowed to find a speedy solution to ongoing trade and tariff talks while countering China's efforts to "change the status quo" in the East and South China Seas.

In a 90-minute video call on Friday (January 21), the two allies also agreed to create a new high-level forum to help build economic ties between their countries. Biden also accepted Kishida's invitation to visit Japan, likely in the spring during a meeting of the so-called four-way bloc of nations, according to a US official who briefed reporters after the call.

Faced with common threats from China and North Korea, the two leaders agreed that the US-Japan alliance "has never been stronger or more necessary," the White House report said by phone.

While benevolent, the promise of a "quick" trade resolution suggests that the leaders have so far been unable to agree on whether to ease or remove tariffs imposed by the US under the Trump administration in 2018 on imports of Japanese steel and aluminum. The so-called Section 232 tariffs were applied for reasons of national security and became a thorn in the side of the relationship.

In addition to economic and security issues, including condemnation of North Korea's recent missile launches, China's actions in the region have been at the center of discussion, according to a White House statement.

South China Sea
“The leaders of the two countries decided to rebuff the attempts of the People's Republic of China to change the status quo in the East China and South China Seas, stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the peaceful resolution of problems on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. , [and] they shared concerns about PRC practices in Xinjiang and Hong Kong,” the statement said.

In addition, in a joint statement this week on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Beijing called for "reducing nuclear risks, increasing transparency and advancing nuclear disarmament."

Biden also enlisted support for US actions in connection with the confrontation on the border with Ukraine. Ahead of the talks, a senior administration official said Biden wanted to discuss "a strong, united response that will result from further Russian aggression against Ukraine."

Although Japan did not have a specific promise to join economic sanctions in the event of a Russian invasion, Japan indicated that they were closely linked to the US, the US official said.

The virtual meeting format was unprecedented in Japan, whose leaders have insisted on face-to-face summit meetings with their American counterparts even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japan agreed to hold the summit via video because of "the importance of an early meeting to enable leaders to deepen confidence," Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters this week.

Kishida's predecessor, Yoshihide Suga, was the first foreign leader to hold a summit meeting with Biden at the White House after he took office in 2021. In contrast, since Kishida became prime minister, Kishida has only met face-to-face with Biden briefly on the sidelines of the COP26 summit in Scotland last year.

"I want to use this opportunity to show the world the unwavering ties between Japan and the United States and take the alliance to the next level," Kishida told parliament on Thursday.