TOKYO — The presence of three top U.S. negotiators with differing stances on trade is adding a layer of complexity to tariff talks with Japan.
Open disagreements, competition and confusion among Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have made it hard for the Japanese side to judge the Trump administration's intentions, according to sources close to the negotiations.
"At one point, the three cabinet officials put the talks with the Japanese side on hold and began debating right in front of them," said one source.
"The three officials are competing for credit," said another source close to the Japanese government who speculates that they may be trying to curry favor with President Donald Trump. Bessent and Lutnick were once rivals in the race to become treasury secretary.
There were times when the three men would separately pressure Japan to make concessions, this person said.
In addition to the lack of unity among Bessent, Lutnick and Greer, Tokyo is also concerned about the insufficient coordination between cabinet officials and working-level staff.
In the current talks, "the three tiers in the U.S. — the working level, cabinet officials, and the president — are disjointed, and it appears that information is not being shared," said a senior Japanese economic official. The Japanese side frequently needed to repeat the same things at the working- and cabinet-level talks, the official added.
by xjp_89-64