Hi all. I’m not sure I’ve shared BOJ news here before, so please remove if this isn’t allowed.
I apologize for the greater posting frequency lately. There’s a lot of news having to do with Asian economies!
An excerpt:
*Planned talks between Japan and the U.S. about the “reciprocal tariffs” that have roiled markets could end up putting pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates faster than expected, as the Trump administration claims the weak yen contributes to unfair bilateral trade.*
*The Trump administration has stated the new duties on all its trade partners are based on factors including tariffs, nontariff barriers and currency manipulation. Given that Japan’s tariffs on U.S. goods are not that high in many cases, other parts of this mix are likely to be in focus.*
*It would be natural for this discussion to cover the weak yen, which Trump complained about in March. Notably, Bessent, as head of the Treasury Department, is responsible for overseeing currency policy.*
*Trump associated exchange rates and tariffs in his remarks, saying that China or Japan lowering their currencies is “very unfair to us” while arguing it could be solved “very easily” with tariffs.*
1 comment
Hi all. I’m not sure I’ve shared BOJ news here before, so please remove if this isn’t allowed.
I apologize for the greater posting frequency lately. There’s a lot of news having to do with Asian economies!
An excerpt:
*Planned talks between Japan and the U.S. about the “reciprocal tariffs” that have roiled markets could end up putting pressure on the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates faster than expected, as the Trump administration claims the weak yen contributes to unfair bilateral trade.*
*The* [*cabinet-level discussions*](https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Trump-tariffs/Bessent-to-lead-U.S.-tariff-talks-with-Japan-with-yen-on-agenda)*, to be led on the U.S. side by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, were decided in a call Monday between Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump after* [*Washington announced*](https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Trump-reveals-reciprocal-tariffs-34-on-China-24-on-Japan2) *an unexpectedly high* [*24% duty on imports from Japan*](https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade-war/Trump-reveals-reciprocal-tariffs-34-on-China-24-on-Japan2) *last week.*
*The Trump administration has stated the new duties on all its trade partners are based on factors including tariffs, nontariff barriers and currency manipulation. Given that Japan’s tariffs on U.S. goods are not that high in many cases, other parts of this mix are likely to be in focus.*
*It would be natural for this discussion to cover the weak yen, which Trump complained about in March. Notably, Bessent, as head of the Treasury Department, is responsible for overseeing currency policy.*
*Trump associated exchange rates and tariffs in his remarks, saying that China or Japan lowering their currencies is “very unfair to us” while arguing it could be solved “very easily” with tariffs.*
*Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato responded by asserting that “Japan, as we have said before, does not pursue a policy of currency depreciation,” citing the government’s* [*yen-buying interventions*](https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Markets/Currencies/Japan-s-recent-yen-buying-intervention-hit-record-level) *in recent years as evidence.*