When Tokyo's top trade negotiator met U.S. President Donald Trump for tariff talks at the White House earlier this month, he presented him with a gold-coloured piggy bank.

The economic effects of new trade wars could be hard for the United States to dodge even if talks yield new deals soon.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday did not back President Donald Trump's assertion that tariff talks with China were under way and said he did not know if the U.S. president had talked to Chinese President Xi Jinping.