Japan has most-favoured nation status for US pharmaceutical tariffs, Akazawa says

TOKYO: Japan has secured the United States' most-favoured nation status on its tariffs on chips and drugs, Tokyo's trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced new sector-specific tariff measures.

Akazawa, while refraining from comments on Trump's new duties on branded drugs and heavy-duty trucks, said an existing U.S.-Japan joint statement has confirmed U.S. tariff rates on Japanese semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would not exceed those to others like the European Union.

"We will continue to analyse U.S. tariff measures and their impact on Japan once they become clear, including how they relate to the current U.S.-Japan agreement," Akazawa told a regular press conference.