Japan industry minister Yoji Muto said on Wednesday the nation has requested that the United States exempt Japan from steel and aluminium tariffs.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday Japan has formally asked the United States for an exemption of Trump administration 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum.

President Donald Trump has ordered a 25% import tax on all steel and aluminium entering the US in a major expansion of existing trade barriers. The tariffs, which will increase the costs of importing the metals into the US,

Donald Trump’s trade wars are intensifying and broadening, and this time, it appears Australia’s exports to the United States may not be immune. While flying to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Trump told reporters he would impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from all countries without giving a date for their implementation.

Donald Trump's trade advisers were finalizing plans on Wednesday for the reciprocal tariffs the U.S. president has vowed to impose on every country that charges duties on U.S. imports, ratcheting up fears of a widening global trade war.