U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday and said the two countries would work to cut Washington's trade deficit with Tokyo amid escalating trade tensions threatening to rupture the global economy.

President Donald Trump says he wants to slash the U.S. trade deficit with Japan. Trump made the comments as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House on Friday for their first face-to-face meeting.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seemed to know just what to say, and not say, during a joint news conference Friday with President Donald Trump. Asked whether his government would retaliate if the U.