US President Announces Higher Tariffs on Japanese Goods
US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that he would not strike a trade deal with Japan and would impose higher tariffs on products from that country because of its barriers to rice imports, an example of how "spoiled" other countries are when it comes to trading with the US.
“To show people how spoiled countries have become with the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan: they will not accept our RICE, even though they have a huge shortage of rice,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “In other words, we will simply send them a letter and be happy to have them as a trading partner for many years to come,” he added.
Trump thus suggested that instead of negotiating a trade deal with Tokyo, he would send Japan a letter indicating the tariffs that would be levied on products imported from Japan.
Trump does not rule out extending tariff suspensionThe president explained his idea for an approach to countries that are "resistant" in trade talks with the US, among others, during a Sunday interview on Fox Business television.
"I'm just going to send letters, that's the end of the trade deal. I could send one to Japan: 'Dear Mr. Japan, here's the situation: you're going to pay 25 percent tariffs on your cars,'" Trump said. At a news conference on Friday, he said he would rather send such letters to all countries, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who he said is nicer than him, is opposed to that.
Trump did not rule out extending the executive order suspending higher tariffs announced in April for nearly 70 countries and the European Union , but he said he did not think it would be necessary. The order expires on July 9.
As CNN noted, contrary to Trump's claims, last year alone the US exported $298 million worth of rice to Japan. Japan imposes high tariffs on imported rice, but they only apply to amounts above a set limit.
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