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Ishiba states no talk with Trump on auto tariffs at top

Trump acknowledges Japan's US huge financial investment, job creation

LNG, steel, AI and vehicles are locations Japan can purchase US

Nippon Steel will operate under US management, personnel

Japan will not raise defence costs without public support

TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba revealed optimism on Sunday that his country could avoid higher U.S. tariffs, saying Trump had actually "acknowledged" Japan's big financial investment in the U.S. and the American tasks that it creates.

At his very first White House summit on Friday, Ishiba told public broadcaster NHK, he explained to Trump how many Japanese car manufacturers were producing tasks in the United States.

The two did not particularly talk about car tariffs, Ishiba said, although he said he did not understand whether Japan would be subject to the mutual tariffs that Trump has actually said he prepares to trouble imports.

Tokyo has up until now got away the trade war Trump let loose in his very first weeks in office. He has revealed tariffs on products from Canada, Mexico and China, although he postponed the 25% responsibilities on his North American neighbours to permit talks.

The escalating trade tensions since Trump returned to the White House on January 20 threaten to rupture the global economy.

Ishiba said he thinks Trump "acknowledged the fact Japan has actually been the world's largest financier in the United States for five straight years, and is therefore different from other countries."

"Japan is creating numerous U.S. jobs. I believe (Washington) will not go straight to the idea of greater tariffs," he said.

Ishiba voiced optimism that Japan and the U.S. can avoid a tit-for-tat tariff war, stressing that tariffs need to be put in place in a method that "benefits both sides".

"Any action that exploits or excludes the other side won't last," Ishiba said. "The question is whether there is any issue between Japan and the United States that calls for imposing greater tariffs," he included.

Japan had the greatest foreign direct financial investment in the United States in 2023 at $783.3 billion, followed by Canada and higgledy-piggledy.xyz Germany, demo.qkseo.in according to the most recent U.S. Commerce Department information.

Trump pushed Ishiba to close Japan's $68.5 billion annual trade surplus with Washington but expressed optimism this could be done quickly, yogaasanas.science provided a guarantee by Ishiba to bring Japanese investment in the U.S. to $1 trillion.

On Sunday, Ishiba identified melted natural gas, steel, AI and automobiles as locations that Japanese companies might purchase.

He likewise discussed Trump's promise to take a look at Nippon Steel buying U.S. Steel, setiathome.berkeley.edu as opposed to buying the storied American business - a prepared purchase opposed by Trump and obstructed by his predecessor, Joe Biden.

"Investment is being made to guarantee that it remains an American business. It will continue to run under American management, with American employees," Ishiba said. "The bottom line is how to ensure it remains an American company. From President Trump's viewpoint, this is of utmost importance."

On military spending, another location where Trump has pressed allies for boosts, wiki.snooze-hotelsoftware.de Ishiba said Japan would not increase its defence budget plan without first winning public backing. "It is vital to guarantee that what is deemed required is something the taxpayers can understand and support," he said. (Reporting by Leika Kihara: Additional reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by William Mallard)