T OKYO: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he won’t “easily compromise” in talks with Washington as Tokyo seeks to avert President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs of up to 35% on Japanese goods. “We will not easily compromise. That’s why it is taking time and why it is tough,” Ishiba told a television talk show.

The U.S. is preparing to send Japan a letter outlining a new tariff rate for the nation, President Trump said Monday, despite months of intensive negotiations between the countries aimed at averting higher tariffs.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a "30% or 35%" tariff on Japan if a deal between the two countries is not reached before a deadline next week. That would be well above the 24% tariff Japan was hit with as part of Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" on 2 April, when he announced steep import duties on countries around the world.