Japan to Allow 'Legitimate' Exports to South Korea as Trade Restrictions Take Effect

Japan said it will allow “legitimate” exports to South Korea as it prepares today to remove the country from its list of trusted trading partners. During an Aug. 27 press conference, Hiroshige Seko, Japan’s minister of trade, economy and industry, repeated assertions that the move is not a “countermeasure” to any South Korean actions and is not an export embargo.

“We will permit exports that have been confirmed to be legitimate private transactions,” Seko said, according to an unofficial translation of a transcript of the press conference. “I want to continue to operate it as usual.”

Seko declined to say whether Japan would consider keeping South Korea on its trusted trading list if South Korea dialed down its own export restrictions it placed on Japan, but said “relating the two are completely unacceptable.”

The countries have been locked in a trade war since July, when Japan announced it would be restricting exports to South Korea of certain chemicals used to make computer chips and other high-tech goods (see 1908020023). South Korea responded with its own set of trade restrictions in August (see 1908120036).

Seko also briefly touched on the U.S.’s trade agreement with Japan, saying the two sides reached a “consensus on the main items,” including agricultural and “industrial products.” Seko called the deal “balanced” but stressed that it has not yet been officially signed. The deal involves significant Japanese purchases of U.S. beef, pork, dairy and corn, President Donald Trump said during the G-7 summit in France (see 1908260033).