Japan has no plans to threaten to sell its US$1 trillion-plus holdings of US Treasuries in trade talks with Washington, its finance minister said on Sunday, clarifying earlier remarks that the bond holdings could be used as a bargaining chip.
“My comments were made in response to a question whether Japan could, as a bargaining tool in trade negotiations, explicitly reassure Washington it wouldn’t sell its Treasury holdings easily,” Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said.
“The comments weren’t meant to suggest selling Treasury holdings,” Kato told a press conference in Milan.
In a television interview on Friday, Kato said Japan’s US Treasury holdings could be used as a card in trade negotiations, raising explicitly for the first time its leverage as a massive creditor to the United States.
Kato in the interview added whether Japan actually uses that card is a different question.
At the press conference on Sunday, Kato…
