‘Very exciting time for the USA’: US and Japan strike massive trade deal

‘Very exciting time for the USA’: US and Japan strike massive trade deal

Donald Trump says the US and the Philippines has struck a trade deal after a visit to Washington by the Philippines president in the last half an hour as well. We’ve heard that a massive deal in Donald Trump’s words has been done with Japan as well. Stash Butler joins us. First of all, on the Philippines, it means that tariffs for the Philippines will be cut by just 1%. So, where does that leave the Philippines and what’s been the reaction there? Well, Laura, yeah, that’s right. So they’ve been cut from uh 20% to 19% according to the post by Donald Trump on his favorite platform Truth Social. Now that does seem obviously from a Philippine perspective like one Philippine newspaper described it that the Philippines has got the short end of the stick but still nonetheless for the Philippines president Ferdan Marcos Jr. a concession that he can take home. Importantly, it puts him roughly le level pegging when it comes to US tariffs compared to uh other regional uh economies like Indonesia and like Vietnam. Donald Trump also stressing the continued military cooperation that will go on. The two countries have had an alliance going back more than 70 years now which has you know been stressed has been repeated that commitment been reaffirmed in recent years as tensions between the Philippines and China ratchet up in the South China Sea. So something that Fernand Marcus Jr. will be pleased to see. Pleased to see that he’s, you know, maintaining that key relationship for Manila there. Yeah, absolutely. What about the Japan deal? Do we have details of that again? Do you look to Truth Social? That’s right. We’re looking to Truth Social again once more for this one. Uh Laura Donald Trump announcing in just the past half an hour or so uh that he has struck what he described as a massive trade deal with Japan, writing that it will see tariffs uh paid by or rather levied on Japanese goods coming into the US dropped to 15%. He was Donald Trump was threatening 25% beginning August 1st if no deal was struck and that the US would pay uh no tariffs on various products entering Japan.

US President Donald Trump has announced America has struck a massive trade deal with Japan as he suggested it was “perhaps the largest deal ever made”.

President Trump announced this in a Truth Social post where he claimed Japan will also pay “reciprocal tariffs” to the United States of 15 per cent.

“Japan will invest, at my direction, $550 billion into the United States, which will receive 90 per cent of the profits. This deal will create hundreds of thousands of jobs — there has never been anything like it,” he said.

“Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their country to trade, including cars and trucks, rice and certain other agricultural products, and other things.

“This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the country of Japan.”