When US President Donald Trump announced the latest tariffs on steel and aluminum this week, he insisted there was “no exemptions or exceptions.”
Washington’s closest allies in the Asia-Pacific region hope that they can change the minds of the mercury US president.
Japan, Australia and the US treaty allies in export-dependent economies have confirmed that Trump is seeking 25% exemption from steel and aluminum, but South Korea is also an ally of the US treaty, which has given us a high-level speech. It announced that it is seeking it. problem.
“We will take necessary measures, including lobbying the US for exemptions, but we will closely monitor the possibility of impact on the Japanese economy,” Prime Minister Ishauhiba, who met in Washington last week, met on Congress on Wednesday. He spoke to.
With both Japan and South Korea having a massive trade surplus with the US, their efforts to shake up Trump could include commitments to increase US imports.
The US trade deficits between Japan and South Korea were around $68 billion and $660 billion, primarily as a result of automobile exports.
Nagai, Asia Secretary of Oxford Economics, said Tokyo is likely to point out “the technological advantage that the United States desperately needs to lead in new strategic industries.”
“Japan enjoys a massive trade surplus with the US for machinery, which gives the US an incentive to impose tariffs,” Nagai told Al Jazeera.
“At the same time, the technical advantages of Japanese machines, such as semiconductor equipment and materials, make it difficult to quickly find alternatives.”
After a speech at the White House on Friday, Trump and Isba said, “The agenda is to boost Republican domestic industries, including a pledge to strengthen energy security by unlocking affordable and reliable US energy and natural resources. A joint statement has been issued to acknowledge it.
At the same time, Isba announced plans for a further $1 trillion investment, including artificial intelligence, impressed with Japan over the past five years that it is the largest foreign investor in the United States.
“My feeling is that this (the tariff exemption) is negotiable,” Ryota Abe, an economist at Mitsui River Bank (SMBC), told Al Jazeera.
“The negative impact on the US economy will not be small if the relationship between the two is severely damaged. And this is not the best option for the US either.”
The outline of his second administration’s policy priorities still unfold, but Trump has gained his reputation for preferring to deal with him from his first term.
Despite claiming that his tariffs apply to all countries, Trump said he would leave the door open to Australian exceptions almost immediately, giving the exemption “big consideration.”
“We have a surplus in Australia, one of the few,” Trump said.
Trump’s senior trade and manufacturing counselor Peter Navarro poured cold water into those hopes the following day, claiming that Australia was “killing” the US aluminum market.
After Trump first took office in 2016, Australia’s aluminum exports surged, peaking at around 269,000 tonnes in 2019.
Since then, exports have fluctuated considerably, at 83,000 tonnes in 2024, down from 210,000 the previous year.
“Overall, the second Trump administration is acting more ruthlessly and more confused than the first Trump administration, which means that Japan, Australia and NATO/EU allies are extremely unstable and difficult. We will continue to face a diplomatic situation. Craig Mark, an auxiliary lecturer in economics at Josey University in Tokyo, told Al Jazeera.
During his first term, Trump did not adopt a unified approach to giving generosity to friendly countries and allies.
In 2018, his administration exempted Australia from steel and aluminum tariffs, allowing South Korea to allocate up to 2.63 million tonnes of tax-free steel.
However, his administration did not extend such relief to Japan.
Former US President Joe Biden’s management agrees to ease tariffs on Japanese steel in 2022 and allow 1.25 million tonnes of steel to enter the US tax-free each year, whilst maintaining tariffs on aluminum. I did.
“The first Trump administration experience shows how Japan is targeting US tariffs despite all diplomatic efforts,” said Mark, a professor at Hossei University, formerly. Japanese Prime Minister Abe pointed out that he had been to Great, the length of his close personal relationship with Trump.
Trump has “a much broader view of his mission” compared to his first terminology, but he views tariffs as “a truly valuable tool that can be used to solve countless problems.” But the characteristic of his administration’s override is uncertainty. said Deborah Elms, director of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore.
Elms said he is not convinced that Trump himself can provide answers about the direction and goals of his policy.
“He drives trade policies, so this lack of clarity is important, at least for now,” Elms told Al Jazeera.