On that occasion he presented the property tycoon with a $4,500 golf club, but for this week's formal get-together the stakes are higher and the gift much bigger.
Trump has singled out Toyota over a plan for a Mexican factory, said US automakers face discrimination in Japan and accused Tokyo of devaluing the yen for trade advantage.Ībe, deeply aware of Japan's dependence on the US for both national security and as a key trade partner, rushed to meet Trump in New York shortly after his November election. Japan has not been spared Trump's trademark assaults in which he has claimed the US has been the patsy of predatory foreign economies, which he says are "killing us". Their White House summit on Friday will be followed by a game of golf at Trump's palatial vacation estate in Florida, as the two men look to forge a personal relationship commensurate with their countries' national ties.īoosting employment in the United States has been a key pillar of Trump's economic nationalism and his pledge to "Make America Great Again", a promise that often comes at the expense of other countries.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe heads to Washington on Thursday with a massive investment package for Donald Trump, possibly designed to innoculate his country against presidential criticism.Ībe will dangle proposals linked to the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the US, ranging from high-speed rail projects to private cash from Japanese companies.