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Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy (from left) and Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds, and Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto attend a 2+2 economic meeting in Tokyo, Japan, Friday. (Reuters-Yonhap)

Japan’s Trade Minister Yoji Muto will visit the US next week as Tokyo steps up efforts to seek a reprieve from President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign.

The visit is set to take place from March 9 to March 11, just before the president’s extra levies on steel and aluminum are expected to kick in on March 12, Japan’s Trade Ministry said Friday. Muto is expected to meet his counterpart, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, according to the ministry.

Japan is seeking an exemption from Trump’s blanket 25 percent duty on the metals. The Asian nation, which is the biggest foreign investor in the US, is also looking to be excluded from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs that are planned from April 2. Japan also wants to discuss a proposed 25 percent tariff on foreign car imports that may be announced the same day.

Muto announced his visit after Trump earlier this week slapped tariffs on Canada and Mexico then delayed some of them including levies on cars for one month. The president also doubled a levy on China.

Tokyo is paying close attention to all trade developments as Japanese carmakers operate in Mexico and Canada and Beijing is one of its most important trading partners.

Nations are scrambling to minimize the potential impact from Trump’s tariff push. South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok recently spoke with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and discussed tariffs as Ahn Duk-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, met with Lutnick in an effort to soften the potential blow.

Like other nations, both Japan and South Korea are exposed to pressure from Trump to invest in the US rather than send goods there. Earlier this week, Trump touted interest from Tokyo and Seoul to invest heavily in a proposed Alaska pipeline to transport natural gas.

The auto tariff poses a big threat to the Japanese economy while Japanese firms would also be vulnerable if Washington slaps 25 percent tariffs on the chips and pharmaceutical sectors. Last year, auto exports accounted for 17 percent of all outbound shipments from Japan, with more than a third of the total bound for the US.

Still, Japanese manufacturers already make more cars in the US than they ship to the market, according to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association. In 2023, Japanese carmakers made 3.3 million cars in the US, more than twice the 1.5 million cars they exported to the nation. (Bloomberg)

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