US President Donald Trump said in a letter to the Congress on Monday that Washington had reached a trade deal with Tokyo.
Vagueness on Auto Tariffs
Trump stated that the agreement could be put in practice “in the coming weeks” without approval from the US lawmakers. But the did not touch on the issue of his threatened tariffs of up to 25 percent on Japanese auto exports.
Japan’s top negotiator, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Finance Minister Tarō Asō on Tuesday confirmed the deal and said that the tariffs on cars would not be imposed. The deal would also not contain any provisions on foreign exchange rates.
Trump Says he Doesn’t Want a War
On the rising Middle East tensions, Trump said it looked like Iran was behind the weekend drone attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia but emphasized that he did not want to go to war. Saudi officials said the weapons used originated from Iran.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani rejected the allegation that Tehran was behind the attacks that and said the “Yemeni people” were exercising their self-defense right in response to the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s years-long and devastating war against the Houthis.
Abe to Meet With Rouhani
Japanese Prime Minister Şinzō Abe announced Tuesday he was set to meet with Rouhani at the UN in New York later this month. The attacks sent oil and other energy commodity prices soaring the most since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
Boris Finds No Solution in Luxembourg
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to Luxembourg where he met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker over lunch did not produce any breakthrough in the Brexit process.
“Yes, there is a good chance of a deal, yes I can see the shape of it, everybody can see roughly what could be done,” Johnson said after the meeting but the two sides appeared worried over the actual chances of a deal with less than seven weeks to the day of UK’s departure from the EU.
Juncker and Luxembourg PM Bettel stated that the responsibility to come up with an Irish backstop alternative and a deal palatable to both sides fell on Johnson. Johnson did not request another delay to Brexit.
