US President Donald Trump initiated a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and discussed tariffs in general terms, just as Tokyo’s top negotiator left for the US for another round of trade talks.

TOKYO -- Japanese authorities have only a limited fiscal and monetary arsenal to draw on as they fight to support Asia's No. 2 economy in the face of a barrage of U.S. trade tariffs, according to BNP Paribas.

“Investment, not tariffs,” Ishiba told reporters after the talks. He said Japan’s position to keep pushing Washington to drop all recent tariff measures is unchanged and that he stands by plans to push for Japanese investment to create more jobs in the U.S. in exchange.

Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs may be able to survive a legal challenge, thanks in part to a Japanese zipper company that sued the Nixon administration 50 years ago.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says Southeast Asian nations will forge a common front to face challenges including economic headwinds from U.S. tariffs and the four-year deadly civil war in Myanmar.

Japan's exports to the United States, its largest single trading partner, fell nearly 2% in April as tariff hikes imposed by President Donald Trump hit home.

Just as investors thought they could take a break from tariff scares, President Trump’s threats of new levies against the EU and Apple threw trade tensions back into focus ahead of a long holiday weekend.

Trump’s statement on a “planned partnership” between the two companies left it vague as to whether he is approving Nippon Steel’s bid after he vowed repeatedly to block the