WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump said Friday he wants to slash the U.S. trade deficit with Japan as he welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to the White House for their first face-to-face meeting.

Trump added that he isn’t taking the possibility of levying tariffs against Japan off the table, but believes the issue can be resolved without punitive action. The United States has a $68 billion trade deficit with Japan.

“I think it will be very easy for Japan,” Trump said at start of his Oval Office meeting with Ishiba. “We have a fantastic relationship. I don’t think we’ll have any problem. They want fairness also.”

Trump announced that Japan’s Nippon Steel’s was dropping its $14.1 billion acquisition of the Pittsburgh-headquartered U.S. Steel and would instead be making an “investment, rather than a purchase.” Trump said he would “mediate and arbitrate” as the companies negotiate the investment. The U.S. president mistakenly referred to Nippon Steel as “Nissan,” the Japanese automaker.

President Joe Biden, before leaving office last month, blocked the purchase, citing national security concerns. Trump in December said he was “totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company.” Trump told reporters Friday that he remained opposed to the Japanese company buying U.S. Steel outright.

Trump’s push to cut the trade deficit comes as he has pursued tariffs on both friends and foes in an effort to boost American manufacturing.

Ishiba, who was making a whirlwind trip to Washington to get face time with Trump, said he understands that Trump’s goal is mutually beneficial trade policy.

But the prime minister also noted Japanese companies have held the top spot for cumulative foreign direct investment in the U.S. over the last five years. He added that Japan was looking to invest more in the United States.

Ishiba also heaped praise on Trump, saying he was inspired by the “undaunted presence” of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist after surviving an assassination attempt at a July campaign rally. Ishiba added that many in Japan were also excited about his return to the White House.