Japan's Akazawa, Lutnick of U.S. Hold In-Depth Tariff Talks

   Tokyo, July 7 (Jiji Press)--Japanese economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa held telephone talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday and Saturday over U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff measures, the Japanese government has said.
   Akazawa, Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator, and Lutnick reconfirmed the two countries' positions on the tariff issue and had in-depth discussions, according to the government. The phone talks lasted 45 minutes Thursday and 60 minutes Saturday.
   Akazawa has visited the United States seven times, holding talks with U.S. officials, including Lutnick, on Tokyo's request for a review of Trump's high tariff policy. The bilateral negotiations, however, have hit a snag.
   Japan is aiming to make progress by Wednesday, when the 90-day pause on the additional U.S. reciprocal tariffs is scheduled to end.
   Trump said Sunday that he will send on Monday letters notifying 12 or 15 of the United States' trading partners of respective new tariff rates for them.

(2025/07/07-10:23)