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Japan says US will not stack 15% tariff on other duties

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US also promised order to lower auto tariff, Japan says

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Japan says did not discuss $550 bln investment pledge

(Adds details on trade discussions throughout)

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday

promised to amend a presidential executive order to remove

overlapping tariffs on Japanese goods, Tokyo's trade negotiator

said, after talks in Washington to fix what he called a

"regrettable" oversight.

In those discussions, Ryosei Akazawa urged U.S. Commerce

Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to

ensure that a 15% levy agreed last month on Japanese imports was

not stacked on goods, such as beef, that are subject to higher

tariffs.

They explained they would amend a July 31 presidential

order, which included a no-stacking provision for the European

Union but not Japan, and also refund excess duties collected,

Akazawa said.

Lutnick and Bessent also said Trump would lower auto tariffs

to 15% from 27.5% in a separate executive order, in line with

the trade agreement reached by the two countries last month.

"Frankly, I did not expect to be visiting the U.S. again so

soon after my last trip," said Akazawa, who has travelled to

Washington nine times since April.

The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Department did not

immediately respond to requests for comment on the meetings with

Akazawa.

The further clarity on U.S. tariffs as well as strong

corporate earnings pushed Japan's broad Topix index to a

record over the key psychological mark of 3,000 points.

Much of what Akazawa negotiated in July during his

previous visit to Washington, including directly with Trump, was

never put into a signed document. That created confusion in

Tokyo and fears that some Japanese companies could face higher

tariffs than anticipated.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been criticised by his

opponents for not crafting a joint statement with Trump on the

trade deal. Ishiba, who is under pressure from some in his party

to step down after last month's upper house election loss, said

he chose not to do so to speed the agreement's implementation.

To clinch the trade deal, the Japanese premier agreed to

raise investment in the U.S. by as much as $550 billion through

government-backed loans and guarantees for projects that

benefited both countries.

Trump later compared that to a baseball player's signing

bonus that Washington could invest as it liked.

Akazawa declined to say whether he discussed the investment

pledge with Lutnick and Bessent.

Japan "will continue to maintain close communication with

the U.S. side at various levels," the government said in a

statement.