Trump says he's joining Bessent and Lutnick for trade negotiations with Japanese at the White House

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he’s joining some of his top economic advisers on Wednesday for negotiations at the White House over tariffs and trade with a top Japanese official who is traveling to Washington for the talks.

The Republican president said in a post on his social media platform that he’ll attend the meeting alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, top economic advisers with a central role in his trade and tariff policies.

Trump recently announced a round of global tariffs but then quickly put them on hold for 90 days after the markets tanked.

The move put Japan’s 24% across-the-board tariff on hold, but a 10% baseline tariff and a 25% tariff on cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. remain in place.

“Japan is coming in today to negotiate Tariffs, the cost of military support, and ‘TRADE FAIRNESS.’ I will attend the meeting, along with Treasury & Commerce Secretaries,” Trump wrote in the social media post. “Hopefully something can be worked out which is good (GREAT!) for Japan and the USA!”

Japan’s chief trade negotiator, Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa, was headed to Washington on a mission to convince U.S. officials to remove Trump’s tariff measures against the East Asian ally of the United States.

Akazawa is to hold his first talks with Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer through Friday.

“I am prepared for the talks,” Akazawa told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport before boarding his flight to Washington. “I will negotiate in order to firmly protect our national interest.”

He said that both Bessent and Greer are “known to be pro-Japan and professionally talented” and that he hopes to build a relationship of trust with them. “I believe we can have good talks toward a win-win relationship that will serve national interest for both Japan and the United States,” he said.

Japan is among the first countries to start negotiations with the U.S.