Japan considers relaxing car safety rule for imports in US tariff talks

Japan is considering relaxing automobile safety rules for imports as part of its tariff negotiations with the United States, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday.

Japan has been hit with 24% levies on its exports to the US although these rates have, like most of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, been paused for 90 days. A 10% universal rate remains in place, as does a 25% duty on cars, a mainstay of Japan's export-reliant economy.

As Japan and the US use different safety standards, Tokyo sees room for easing rules on crash tests as a bargaining chip in trade talks, Nikkei said citing unnamed sources.

With Trump's trade offensive roiling markets and stoking recession fears, Japan is seeking to walk back his "reciprocal" tariffs and other duties imposed on Japan, along with dozens of countries.

Trump touted "big progress" in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday, in one of the first rounds of face-to-face negotiations since his barrage of duties on global imports.