Hold onto your wallets—President Donald Trump just dropped a bombshell trade deal with Japan that could reshape U.S. economic ties in Asia.
According to USA Today, announced as a potentially historic agreement, Trump signed a deal lowering U.S. tariffs on Japanese imports to 15% from a threatened 24%, while securing a massive $550 billion investment from Japan into the U.S. economy and opening Japanese markets to American goods like vehicles and rice.
Let’s rewind to April, when Trump delayed sweeping reciprocal tariffs on most countries, including Japan, which faced a 10% universal tariff at the time.
Negotiations with Japan hit a wall just three weeks before the breakthrough, with Trump even calling Japan “spoiled” and expressing doubts about a deal on July 1.
Yet, persistence paid off, and on the night of July 22, Trump signed the agreement during a White House reception with Republican lawmakers.
He took to Truth Social that same day, hyping it as “a massive deal” for American interests.
Trump defended the tariff cut from 24% to 15% in a later Truth Social post, emphasizing his philosophy on trade.
“I will always give up Tariff points if I can get major countries to OPEN THEIR MARKETS TO THE USA,” he stated.
This deal, he argued, proves tariffs are a powerful tool to force economic fairness—a win for free-market advocates who value strategic leverage.
Under the agreement, Japan commits to a staggering $550 billion investment in the U.S., with America pocketing 90% of the profits.
Japan, the fourth-largest U.S. trading partner behind Canada, Mexico, and China, also agreed to wider access for U.S. products, from cars to agricultural staples.
For investors, this signals potential growth in sectors tied to U.S.-Japan trade—think automotive and farming stocks.
The deal comes just ahead of an August 1 deadline, when Trump plans higher tariffs on roughly 170 countries—a ticking clock that likely spurred Japan to act.
Meanwhile, Trump also mentioned a new trade pact with the Philippines on the same day as the Japan announcement, during a White House visit by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., alongside deals with the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia, showing a broader trade offensive.