AFP, Tokyo :
Japan’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the US edged up in April, government data showed Monday, after Tokyo warned it may take retaliatory measures against US tariffs.
Japan logged a surplus in April of 615.7 billion yen ($5.6 billion) with the US, up 4.7 percent after a 0.3 percent decline the previous month, as demand for cars and construction machinery increased, according to finance ministry data.
The fresh data comes after Tokyo informed the WTO it had the right to impose tariffs worth 50 billion yen ($451 million) on US goods-equivalent to the impact of the US tariffs newly imposed on Japanese steel and aluminium products.
The European Union has made it clear that it does not for now intend to use the countermeasures, but that its notification to the WTO leaves all options on the table as a June 1 deadline for Washington to retract its tariffs approaches.
On Sunday, Washington and Beijing said they had agreed to avoid a potential trade war and back off from imposing tariffs on each other.
US President Donald Trump sparked fears of a trade war in March when he decided to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminium imports, primarily to target China, but also allies, including EU countries as well as Japan.
Japan’s politically sensitive trade surplus with the US edged up in April, government data showed Monday, after Tokyo warned it may take retaliatory measures against US tariffs.
Japan logged a surplus in April of 615.7 billion yen ($5.6 billion) with the US, up 4.7 percent after a 0.3 percent decline the previous month, as demand for cars and construction machinery increased, according to finance ministry data.
The fresh data comes after Tokyo informed the WTO it had the right to impose tariffs worth 50 billion yen ($451 million) on US goods-equivalent to the impact of the US tariffs newly imposed on Japanese steel and aluminium products.
The European Union has made it clear that it does not for now intend to use the countermeasures, but that its notification to the WTO leaves all options on the table as a June 1 deadline for Washington to retract its tariffs approaches.
On Sunday, Washington and Beijing said they had agreed to avoid a potential trade war and back off from imposing tariffs on each other.
US President Donald Trump sparked fears of a trade war in March when he decided to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent on aluminium imports, primarily to target China, but also allies, including EU countries as well as Japan.
