US President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on Japanese goods on Friday if the US trade deficit with Tokyo is not closed, as he met with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Washington.
Ishiba, who is only the second foreign leader to visit the White House since Trump returned to power, praised the US president as he sought to build a rapport with the “tough” Trump.
While meeting in the Oval Office, Ishiba hailed Trump’s “fearless presence, standing up and raising his fist high in the sky” after the Republican survived an assassination attempt last year.
The Japanese prime minister – whose country is a key US ally against the rising power of China and a nuclear-armed North Korea – said his country was the largest investor in the United States and would increase its spending.
Trump, however, insisted he wanted “equality” in the trade balance between the two countries – and said “yes” when asked if tariffs could follow if progress was not made.
