Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday said that he would not hesitate to hold talks with US President Donald Trump to ensure an agreed cut to US automobile tariffs is implemented soon.
In a parliament session, Ishiba drew criticism from some opposition lawmakers for not having signed an official document with the US in clinching a trade deal last month.
“Creating a document could have delayed the timing of tariff cuts. That was our biggest fear,” Ishiba said.
Photo: AFP
“He is not a typical counterpart and could overturn rules,” Ishiba said on Trump’s negotiating style.
Ishiba said he had “absolutely no hesitation” to hold talks with Trump to have Washington execute the tariff cut soon, although he declined to comment on when such talks could take place.
“Both countries will begin executing what was agreed upon, which is harder than agreeing on a deal,” Ishiba said, signaling his intention to stay on as premier to see through the process.
Ishiba is under pressure from within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party to step down as prime minister to take responsibility for the party’s huge defeat in last month’s upper-house election.
Japan’s trade deal struck with Trump last month lowers US tariffs on imports of goods including automobiles to 15 percent, easing the pain for the export-reliant economy.
However, there is no clarity on when US tariffs for automobiles and auto parts would be cut to 15 percent from the current 25 percent, clouding the outlook for Japan’s fragile recovery.
In the same parliament session, Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said it was hard to say how soon the US could actually implement automobile tariffs, though he added that it took “more than a month” in the case of Britain.
Akazawa also acknowledged criticism over the lack of having anything in writing.
“It’s my understanding having something on paper would be helpful,” Akazawa said, adding that there is also nothing in writing related to Washington’s deals with the EU and South Korea.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip assembly and testing service provider, yesterday said it would boost equipment capital expenditure by up to 16 percent for this year to cope with strong customer demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Aside from AI, a growing demand for semiconductors used in the automotive and industrial sectors is to drive ASE’s capacity next year, the Kaohsiung-based company said. “We do see the disparity between AI and other general sectors, and that pretty much aligns the scenario in the first half of this year,” ASE chief operating officer Tien Wu (吳田玉) told an