'Tariff stacking' leaves Japan confused about US trade deal

The US has imposed higher tariffs than Japan expected on a broad range of its goods, a senior Japanese ruling party official said yesterday, after a day of confusion over what exactly had been agreed between the two countries.

- YOSHIAKI NOHARA AKEMI TERUKINA

Japan faces "stacking" tariffs, where a new 15% levy is added to existing import taxes, even though it had expected to be given an exemption stripping out the old tariffs, Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Itsunori Onodera said in Tokyo.

"The tariffs have been imposed with no exemption, so the rate has risen by 15% as it stands," Mr Onodera said. "We are requesting a prompt correction from the US."

Fresh confusion over the US-Japan trade deal came to the fore yesterday, as Japan's chief negotiator visits Washington to press his counterparts to follow through on a pledge to cut a separate levy on car imports. The disagreement between the two nations over implementing the universal tariffs suggests more misunderstandings and friction may emerge in the future.

Japanese media reports said Washington would not exempt Tokyo from an order stacking new 15% across-the-board tariffs on top of existing levies, hours before they came into effect. Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa had earlier disputed such an understanding.

"There will be no stacking," Mr Akazawa said on Tuesday before leaving for Washington. "There's mutual understanding on this matter."