Japan's trade surplus with the United States shrank for the third consecutive month, according to official data published Thursday, as Tokyo nervously eyes Washington's trade war with China. The figures also showed an overall global trade surplus, but that exports had declined for the first time in nearly two years, apparently as a result of several natural disasters this summer.
The surplus - a sensitive subject in Washington - with the US came in at 590.3 billion yen ($5.2 billion) in September. Exports of construction machinery and car parts down and imports of fossil fuels and other US goods up. US President Donald Trump has reportedly described Japan as his next target after China as he seeks to reduce Washington's trade deficit.
Tokyo has watched nervously as Trump's government has imposed tariffs on Chinese goods and criticised Beijing for its currency policy. US and Japanese officials are expected to begin trade talks in January. In a long-awaited report released Wednesday, Washington declined to label Beijing a "currency manipulator", but said the yuan's fall and Beijing's exchange practices were of "particular concern".
Washington has long argued Beijing keeps its currency artificially low to make its exports more competitive. Japan logged an overall global trade surplus of 139.6 billion yen, the first surplus in the past three months. But exports declined for the first time in 22 months, with falls in the export of vehicles and telecommunication equipments, among other products.
Experts cited by Bloomberg said the drop was the result of a string of natural disasters, including a typhoon that inundated an airport in the Kansai region, and an earthquake in northern Japan's Hokkaido that disrupted supply lines. Japan's deficit with its biggest trading partner China expanded 30.6 percent.
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