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“The US is working to finalize an announcement that would end the stacking of universal tariffs on Japanese goods, a senior Trump administration official said Friday (8 August 2025).
The plans, detailed on the condition of anonymity, would resolve prolonged confusion over how US President Donald Trump intended to impose levies on a key trading partner after striking a deal, and match public comments made by Ryosei Akazawa, Tokyo’s top trade negotiator, after a meeting on Thursday (7 August 2025) with his counterparts in Washington.
The announcement, which could take the form of a joi
nt statement from the two countries, would clarify that Japan — like the European Union — would see its 15% reciprocal tariff rate incorporate existing most-favored nation duties.
Akazawa, who met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said US officials expressed regret that the stacking rule had been applied to Japan despite a verbal agreement, and said Washington would refund any overpaid levies, he said.
‘We’ve strongly urged our counterparts to promptly implement these measures,’ Akazawa told reporters on Saturday (9 August 2025), shortly after returning to Tokyo. He declined to comment on when a decision will be made, but made mention of the US-UK trade pact and how it took 54 days to take effect.
‘Keeping such things in mind when it comes to timing, we believe every day matters,’ Akazawa said.”
Chris Gallagher, Yoshiaki Nohara and Sakura Murakam, US, Japan Working to Announce Reciprocal Tariffs Won’t Stack, 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴, 8 August 2025, https://lnkd.in/g_t2uuCy