Japan¡¯s $550 billion investment pledge might end up falling short of the headline number and might become something more akin to routine investment ¡ª rather than a blank check for U.S. President Donald Trump to use as he sees fit ¡ª as negotiations over implementation continue and Tokyo focuses on the fine print of the agreement.
¡°I don¡¯t think that agreement¡¯s ever going to be implemented the way it is. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to happen,¡± said Richard Katz, an economist specializing in Japan. ¡°I think Japan is like, yessing the U.S. to death, like the real negotiation is going on now.¡±
In the trade deal reached by the two countries on July 22, Japan agreed to invest $550 billion in critical industries and technologies in the United States, in exchange for lower tariffs on Japanese automobiles and other products.
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