The agreement - including a 15% tariff on all imported Japanese goods, down from a proposed 25% - is the most significant of the string of trade deals the White House has reached ahead of a August 1 deadline for higher levies to kick in.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had cinched a trade deal with Japan, reducing the tax he had planned to levy on imports from a major trading partner as the deadline he has imposed for negotiations over tariffs nears.

Trump said the U.S. will impose a 15% tariff on Japanese imports under the agreement, which he hailed as "maybe the largest deal in history."