By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s chief trade negotiator has defended a tariffs deal with the U.S., expressing respect for President Donald Trump and calling him a “tough negotiator.”

Trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa noted that the pact setting on most Japanese exports to the U.S. at 15% was comparable to a deal between Washington and the European Union. Unlike the EU, Japan did not have to lower its tariffs on U.S. goods, he noted.

Japan has also committed to investing $550 billion in U.S. projects.

Trump initially set Japan’s tariff rate to increase by 25%.

Critics in Japan had ridiculed Akazawa’s repeated trips to the U.S. to work toward a deal as a waste of taxpayer money, saying he should pitch a tent on the White House lawn.

Akazawa said talks with his counterpart, U.S. Comme

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