Photo/Illutration U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on July 4 (Reuters)

Japan was set to dispatch its chief tariff negotiator to the United States for an eighth round of ministerial-level talks but called it off after being forced into a waiting game by the White House.

Japanese officials were optimistic that the reciprocal tariff of 14 percent announced by U.S. President Donald Trump in April could be negotiated. Washington later said additional tariffs would not be implemented until July 9 while it negotiated with its other trade partners.

Japan leapfrogged over other nations to enter negotiations on a range of tariffs and Ryosei Akazawa, as special envoy for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, made seven trips to the United States to haggle.

Akazawa was initially expected to make another trip to Washington this weekend, but the trip was put on hold after Trump said July 4 his administration would be sending out letters to the nations on its tariff list that indicated levies of up to 70 percent could be tacked on because negotiations had not led to an agreement.

But he did not state whether a letter would be sent to Japan, leading a high-ranking official handling economic issues to say: “We have no idea when such a letter may arrive or even if it will arrive. We must prepare while thinking about every and all possibilities.”

Trump has upped his criticism of Japan in recent days, griping that it was not buying enough U.S. cars or rice.

A government source said U.S. officials likely did not want to see negotiations broken off, particularly in the manner of a letter sent in the mail, but added that there was nothing the government could do if Trump decided he wanted additional tariffs implemented.

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