Japan proposes to buy U.S. chip products in tariff talks, Asahi says

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan has proposed purchasing billions of dollars worth of U.S. semiconductor products during ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States, the Asahi newspaper reported, citing an unidentified source.

The Japanese government plans to subsidize domestic companies that buy the U.S. chips from companies such as Nvidia, with potential imports reaching up to 1 trillion yen ($6.94 billion), aimed at reducing America’s roughly 10 trillion yen trade deficit with Japan, the report said.

Japan’s top tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa intends to visit the United States around May 30 for a fourth round of trade talks.

($1 = 144.1700 yen)

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)