Date : October 30, 2025
Trump Tariffs and the Future of International Trade (Prof. Tsuyoshi Kawase, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Sophia University)
post date : 2025.10.09
The tariff policy of the second Trump administration in the US continues to cause chaos around the world. After negotiations between Japan and the US, tariffs rates were reduced from their original high levels, but only with Japan agreeing to make massive investments into the US. Was this kind of unilateral agreement truly an unavoidable choice for Japan? What will become of the international trade order based around the WTO?
The FPCJ has invited Prof. Tsuyoshi Kawase, a professor at the Sophia University Faculty of Law, to discuss the Trump tariffs and the future of international trade, including his opinion on the recent Japan-US agreement, changes to the international trade framework due to the Trump tariffs, and Japan’s leadership to maintain and reconstruct the framework.
Please note that you cannot physically attend this briefing, as it will be a Zoom webinar.
Embassy representatives and FPCJ supporting members may also participate in the briefing as observers (admission free).
■Date & Time: 14:00-15:30, Thursday, October 30, 2025 (Deadline for application: 12:00, Wednesday, October 29)
■Theme: Trump Tariffs and the Future of International Trade
■Briefer: Prof. Tsuyoshi Kawase, Professor at the Faculty of Law, Sophia University
Brief Bio: Faculty fellow at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)
Education: LL.B (1990), Keio University, Japan; LL.M (1994), Georgetown University, United States. Area of expertise: international economic law. Before joining Sophia University in 2007, Professor Kawase was formerly an associate professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University (2004-07), a fellow at RIETI (2003-2004), and an assistant/associate professor at Kobe University of Commerce (1994-2001). He also was a deputy director of the Multilateral Trading System Department of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, representing the Government of Japan in several World Trade Organization (WTO) cases and negotiations (2001-2003).
■Language: Japanese, with consecutive English interpretation
As in our standard press briefings, there will be a Q&A session at the end.
*In principle, questions will only be accepted from members of the foreign press.
■Members of the Foreign Press:
Please send any questions for the briefer or topics you are interested in to cp@fpcjpn.or.jp by 12:00 on Monday, October 27.
As there will only be a limited amount of time to ask questions during the briefing, we will collect questions and provide them to the briefer in advance.
■How to Apply: Please refer to the email we sent.
*We will not be accepting applications by email.