US-Japan Alliance Will Never Be The Same After Trump

2025-08-08 05:02:19

(MENAFN- Asia Times) Recent reports suggest that the US government has agreed to amend its executive order on tariffs so that Japan's 15% reciprocal tariffs will not be stacked on top of existing duties, including on autos, and that any tariffs paid above that threshold would be refunded retroactively.

At first glance, this seems like a step in the right direction for bilateral relations. Yet the reality runs deeper and is far more troubling for ties.

The fact that Japan - a key US ally - had to dispatch its top trade negotiator back to Washington to clarify and confirm the details of a deal signed barely weeks earlier is unprecedented.

It underscores a significant deterioration in trust and communication that risks undermining the foundation of the bilateral alliance.

In diplomacy, particularly among allies, clarity and transparency are paramount. When agreements are left ambiguous or appear subject to unilateral reinterpretation, suspicion inevitably grows.

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