Overview
- In Tokyo, Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi signed an implementation deal locking in 15% U.S. tariffs in exchange for $550 billion in Japanese investment.
- The leaders also inked a separate agreement to reinforce supply chains for critical minerals and advanced a shipbuilding cooperation memorandum with a new bilateral working group.
- Trump is scheduled to meet China’s Xi Jinping on Thursday on the APEC sidelines in South Korea after addressing the forum’s CEO summit and skipping the main leaders’ sessions.
- U.S. officials say a framework is in place to pause steeper American tariffs and Chinese rare‑earth curbs, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the threatened 100% tariff is effectively off the table.
- Talks with South Korea on a $350 billion investment‑for‑tariff package remain deadlocked and are unlikely to conclude during the visit, leaving autos facing 25% U.S. tariffs compared with Japan’s 15% rate.