U.S. to Respect Trade Deals with Japan, EU over New Tariffs

Washington, June 4 (Jiji Press)–U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated Thursday that the United States will respect its trade agreements with Japan and the European Union regarding Washington’s plan to impose additional tariffs of up to 12.5 pct under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. With the U.S. government having agreed to cap its tariffs on Japan at 15 pct, Greer suggested the possibility of reducing the rate of the planned new tariffs on the Asian country in line with the bilateral agreement. According to media reports, Greer told reporters at a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris that the U.S. side understands that a deal is a deal. The Office of the USTR announced a plan on Tuesday to additionally impose tariffs of 10 to 12.5 pct on goods from 60 economies, including Japan, claiming that their measures to ban imports of products made with forced labor are insufficient. The plan drew opposition from many of the targeted economies. Japan and the EU agreed with the United States last year that overall U.S. tariff rates on their products, including existing levies, would not exceed 15 pct. While the United States has proposed tariffs of 12.5 pct for Japan and 10 pct for the EU under Section 301, Greer clarified that the United States will uphold tariff agreements reached in the past year. European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maros Sefcovic told reporters that it is important that the proposed new tariff rates are under the 15 pct cap. Sefcovic added that he met with Greer and asked the U.S. side to take this into consideration. Meanwhile, Greer said that the United States notified China in advance of the introduction of the additional tariffs. Forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has been regarded as a problem. The United States plans to impose 12.5 pct additional tariffs on products from China, Greer said, adding that negotiations between the two countries will continue. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]