U.S. to Respect Trade Deals with Japan, EU over New Tariffs

Washington, June 4 (Jiji Press)--U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated Thursday that the United States will respect its trade agreements with Japan and the European Union regarding Washington's plan to impose additional tariffs of up to 12.5 pct under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

With the U.S. government having agreed to cap its tariffs on Japan at 15 pct, Greer suggested the possibility of reducing the rate of the planned new tariffs on the Asian country in line with the bilateral agreement.

According to media reports, Greer told reporters at a ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris that the U.S. side understands that a deal is a deal.

The Office of the USTR announced a plan on Tuesday to additionally impose tariffs of 10 to 12.5 pct on goods from 60 economies, including Japan, claiming that their measures to ban imports of products made with forced labor are insufficient. The plan drew opposition from many of the targeted economies.

Japan and the EU agreed with the United States last year that overall U.S. tariff rates on their products, including existing levies, would not exceed 15 pct.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]