Japan to Keep Investment Pledge to U.S. after Tariff Ruling

Tokyo, Feb. 22 (Jiji Press)--Despite the U.S. Supreme Court finding President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs unconstitutional, Japan is expected to maintain its 550-billion-dollar investment and loan pledge to the United States under their bilateral tariff agreement.

The Japanese government is closely monitoring whether U.S. tariff policy-related uncertainties will resurface following the U.S. top court ruling on Friday. Tokyo has asked Washington to ensure that the court ruling would not affect Japanese companies.

Japan will handle the situation carefully to avoid jeopardizing the tariff deal with the United States, which was reached after tough negotiations.

The U.S. court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, under which the Trump administration imposed 15 pct reciprocal tariffs on a wide range of Japanese goods, does not grant the president the authority to impose such tariffs. The ruling may affect the basis of the Japan-U.S. tariff agreement.

Still, sector-specific tariffs, which could greatly impact Japan, especially its auto industry, are based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act and are therefore not directly affected by the latest court decision.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]