The Japanese government is considering increasing imports of U.S. soybeans and corn as part of ongoing negotiations with Washington over U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on automobiles, steel, aluminum and other goods, a government source said Friday. Japan is looking to step in and take up excess supply created by falling U.S. exports of the two crops to China due to heightened trade friction between Washington and Beijing. By doing so, it hopes to win exemptions from U.S. tariffs, the source said. Imported corn can be used as animal fodder and converted to bioethanol fuel in Japan, according to the source. Ryosei Akazawa, Japan's chief representative in tariff negotiations with the Trump administration, said Friday he will make a three-day trip to Washington from Wednesday for a second round of talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the point person for negotiations with Japan. In the first round of talks earlier this month in the U.S. capital, Akazawa, the economic revitalization minister who is known as a close aide to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, urged the United States to review tariffs it has imposed on automobiles, steel and aluminum as well as its baseline 10 percent levy. In the initial talks, the United States expressed dissatisfaction over the number of U.S.-made cars imported into Japan and has pushed its security ally to open its market to more U.S. rice, meat and potatoes. The government source said the proposed expansion of imports of U.S. soybeans and corn "should be welcomed by the United States as it would divert (imports) intended for China to Japan." According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, China was the largest importer of U.S soybeans and a major trading partner for corn in 2024. But China customs data showed that imports of corn from the United States fell by 99 percent from a year earlier and soybeans by 11 percent in terms of value in March as the two economic powers imposed tit-for-tat tariffs. For Japan, the United States is the largest source of imports of corn and soybeans, followed by Brazil. A source close to the Japanese farm ministry said the proposal would mean asking domestic agricultural groups to cooperate in switching imports from Brazil to the United States.