Abe’s comments suggest Trump may be softening his criticism that Japan was manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Wednesday U. S. President Donald Trump shared his view at last week’s summit that Japan’s monetary policy was not currency manipulation but was intended to end deflation.
Abe’s comments about the Feb. 10 summit suggest Trump may be softening his criticism that Japan was manipulating its currency to gain a trade advantage.
« I think Trump shared the view that our monetary policy is not for currency manipulation but for ending deflation, » Abe said in the upper house of parliament.
Abe also said he explained how Japanese automakers with factories in the United States contributed to job creation in the world’s largest economy. Trump did not make any demands for Japan to further open its economy to imports, Abe added.
Trump has questioned the small number of U. S. auto exports to Japan, raising concerns he could pursue protectionist trade policies to lower the U. S. trade deficit.
