Trump signs executive order implementing US-Japan trade agreement

By Beril Canakci

ISTANBUL (AA) - US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to implement a sweeping trade agreement with Japan.

The order establishes a baseline 15% tariff on nearly all Japanese imports, with exceptions for certain products, while securing expanded access for American goods in Japan’s markets, according to a statement released by the White House.

It also clears the way for what the White House described as an agreement “unlike any other in American history,” involving $550 billion in Japanese investment in US projects.

The White House said the investments, chosen by the US government, will create hundreds of thousands of jobs, expand manufacturing and secure prosperity for generations.

In July, Trump announced the framework of the deal, calling it “perhaps the largest deal ever made” in a post on the US social media company Truth Social’s platform, which he owns.

Under the pact, Japan has also agreed to significantly increase purchases of US agricultural products including corn, soybeans and rice, amounting to roughly $8 billion.

Tokyo has also committed to buy US-made commercial aircraft and defense equipment while relaxing restrictions on importing American cars that meet US safety standards.

“This agreement lays the foundation for a new era of US-Japan trade relations grounded in reciprocity,” Trump wrote in the order.