TOKYO: Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Friday that trade negotiations with the U.S. “remained in a fog” despite efforts by both sides to seek an agreement.

Tokyo has failed so far to clinch a trade deal with Washington and fulfil its goal of convincing President Donald Trump to scrap a 25% tariff on Japanese cars as well as a 24% reciprocal tariff on other Japanese imports that has been paused until July 9.

July 9 is an important date but not a deadline for bilateral trade talks, Akazawa told a news conference.

“We’re looking for the possibility of a deal in ministerial-level negotiations. But the outlook remains in a fog,” he said on the prospects of clinching an agreement.

The remarks are likely to fuel fears that the bilateral trade talks could drag on possibly until after an expected upper house election on July 20.

Analysts say the approaching election makes it difficult for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to make concessions on the politically sensitive issue of agriculture imports.

The tariffs are already hurting Japan’s fragile economy.

Japan’s exports fell in May for the first time in eight months as big automakers like Toyota were hit by sweeping U.S. tariffs, clouding the outlook for an economy heavily reliant on car shipments to the United States.

REUTERS