Japanese premier says tariff talks with US 'making steady progress' amid Trump threats

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Thursday that tariff talks with Washington are making steady progress amid threats by US President Donald Trump, according to Kyodo News.

"We need to cover a wide range of areas, including non-tariff barriers. But we are steadily and certainly making progress on each of them," he said.

It came after Trump threatened to increase tariffs on Japanese imports to 30% or 35%, saying he had no plans to extend a July 9 deadline for countries to reach trade agreements with the US.

"Japan is the largest investor in the United States and the biggest contributor in terms of creating jobs. Our hope is that this will be taken into consideration," said the prime minister.

Trump signaled skepticism Tuesday about the prospects of reaching a new trade agreement with Japan.

"We've dealt with Japan. I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it with Japan," he said.

Japan's top trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, has held several rounds of talks with US officials but has yet to reach an agreement.

On Thursday, Tokyo's chief negotiator announced his intentions to conduct an eighth round of ministerial-level talks in Washington early next week.

The US has already imposed 25% tariffs on Japanese automobile exports, complicating the talks.