Trump reaches trade deals with Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines

White House says Japan will invest $550 billion in the U.S.

As part of the new trade agreement with Japan, U.S. importers will pay a 15% tariff on goods from the country. (Photo: Jim Allen FreightWaves)
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Key Takeaways:

  • A new US-Japan trade deal was announced, involving a 15% tariff on all US imports from Japan, down from a previously threatened 25%.
  • Japan will invest $550 billion in the US and open its market to American cars, trucks, rice, and other agricultural products.
  • Similar trade deals were reached with the Philippines (19% tariff on US imports) and Indonesia (19% tariff on US imports, with Indonesia eliminating tariffs on US goods).
  • These agreements come as the Trump administration sets an August 1st deadline for trade partners to avoid higher tariffs.
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President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Tuesday that they have agreed to a trade deal that will include a 15% tariff on all U.S. imports from Japan. 

As part of the trade agreement, Japan will invest $550 billion into the U.S. and will open its economy to American automotive goods and rice. 

“Perhaps most importantly, Japan will open their Country to Trade including Cars and Trucks, Rice and certain other Agricultural Products, and other things,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Japan is the fifth-largest U.S. trading partner in goods, according to U.S. Census Bureau. Two-way trade between Japan and the U.S. was $227.34 billion in 2024, with Japan running a trade surplus of nearly $70 billion.

Ishiba said the deal will benefit both countries.

“I believe this will contribute to Japan and the United States working together to create jobs and promote high-quality manufacturing, thereby fulfilling various roles on the global stage moving forward,” Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo, according to The Japan Times.

The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a reduction from the 25% rate that Trump said he would impose in a recent letter to Ishiba that would start Aug. 1.

The new agreement is good for Japanese auto giants like Toyota, Honda and Nissan, which previously had a 27.5% levy on cars and pickup trucks exported to the U.S.

The Trump administration still has a 25% tariff on imports from factories and suppliers in Canada and Mexico, excluding goods that fall under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

The Trump administration said Aug. 1 is the deadline for the U.S. and its trade partners to make deals to avoid various tariff rates that Trump announced in dozens of letters sent in recent weeks.

Trump also reached trade agreements with the Philippines and Indonesia on Tuesday.

The U.S. will reduce its tariff rate on goods from the Philippines to 19%, without paying import taxes for what it sells there. The previous duty rate on products from the Philippines was 20%.

The Philippines is the 33rd ranked U.S. trading partner in 2024, with two-way trade totaling around $23.5 billion in 2024.

Key imports from the Philippines are semiconductor devices and computers, auto parts, electric machinery, textiles and garments, wheat and animal feeds, coconut oil, and information technology/business process outsourcing services, according to Philippine authorities.

The White House also announced a trade deal on Tuesday with Indonesia, which includes a 19% tariff on all imported goods from the island nation. Trump officials said Indonesia will not charge tariffs on U.S. imported goods.

U.S. trade with Indonesia totaled $38.3 billion in 2024. Key U.S. imports from Indonesia include electrical machinery, solar panels, palm oil, leather shoes and cocoa butter.

Noi Mahoney

Noi Mahoney is a Texas-based journalist who covers cross-border trade, logistics and supply chains for FreightWaves. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English in 1998. Mahoney has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working for newspapers in Maryland and Texas. Contact nmahoney@freightwaves.com