Japan will tell U.S. to respect WTO rules, says Abe adviser

“We don’t want any border tax to violate WTO rules by becoming a tax system intended to promote exports,”

Yeah, because Japan never violates any rules, manipulates currency, or anything else of the like to promote exports -- not at all!

Yep! Smith, as usual, You are on the money!

Well said smith. I almost laughed when I read the title of this article. Picture that, Japan telling people not to manipulate rules or currency! haha

Trump US trade position is similar to that of 1980s and Asian trading nations of China, Japan and South Korea will be its target. It will be a weak US Dollar policy through political means in order to gain advantage in trade competitiveness. Trump and his economic advisers are clear on this. Expect Yen and Yuan to be pressurized to appreciate. Is there any other realistic option for the US, where labor costs are higher?

In addition there will be frequent tariffs slapped on imports from Japan, China, etc....on car parts, machineries, etc. as part of the overall approach. It will be contentious. Trump is definitely more aggressive that Reagan, Bush 1 and Bill Clinton. No outright trade war but a tough time for Asian exporters to US will be likely scenario. Trump "America First" is indirectly "Beggar thy neighbor policy".