President Donald Trump has singled out Japan, China and Germany for their high net exports to the American market. This is a concern for exporting countries, who fear that global trade could falter.
Japan and the US will start a high-level economic dialogue in mid-April; Tokyo will seek ways to avoid trade friction on issues such as car exports by proposing an agenda focused on investment in US infrastructure.
Exports to China, Japan’s largest trading partner, rose 28.2 per cent year on year in February, on the back of demand for auto parts and electronics components.
This helped Japan log a surplus of 111.8 billion yen (S$1.4 billion) with China – its first in five years.