TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday that he spoke by telephone with U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed to hold “productive” discussions at an upcoming round of tariff talks between the two sides.

Vietnam says it’s made positive progress in the second round of trade talks with the US, as it seeks to secure a deal to avert a cripplingly high US tariff.

Vietnam and the United States this week concluded a second round of trade negotiations, as the Southeast Asian industrial hub seeks a deal to avoid a 46% tariff rate on Vietnamese goods, imposed largely due to its big trade surplus with Washington.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa broke up stern trade talks at the White House with a joke about wishing he had a gift for the president.

South Korea sent a delegation to Washington to hold a second round of technical discussions this week over the Trump administration's proposed "reciprocal" tariffs, Seoul's Trade Ministry said Tuesday.

Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa plans to visit Washington from Friday to Sunday for negotiations over U.S. tariffs, he said on Thursday.

TARIFF TALK ON TRACK — Wary of fraying relations between the federal government and one of Massachusetts’ largest trading partners. Gov. Maura Healey and other northeastern governors began looking for a way to bolster their economic ties with Canada, inviting leaders from a handful of Canadian provinces to Boston to talk at a time TBD.