A farmer harvests rice in a field in Tambasasayama, Japan. (Buddhika Weerasinghe/Bloomberg News)
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President Donald Trump threatened to impose a fresh tariff level on Japan, citing what he said was the country’s unwillingness to accept rice exports from the U.S.
“They won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump posted June 30 on social media. “In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.”
Trump’s latest round of brinkmanship with Tokyo comes just over a week before a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to kick in on dozens of trading partners, including Japan.
U.S. and Japanese officials have been locked in trade talks for months but have yet to resolve thorny issues surrounding tariff levels and trade barriers.
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Japan has pressed for relief from Trump’s 25% auto tariffs, saying they are crippling a crucial industry. But the U.S. president has balked at the request, saying Japan does not import a significant number of American-made vehicles.
For weeks, Trump has threatened to send letters to many U.S. trading partners setting tariffs — citing the approach as a way to impose “deals” with scores of countries at one time and punish those seen as not dealing in good faith with the U.S.
The approach is consistent with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s assertion last week that the Trump administration would finalize a slate of trade deals with roughly 10 of the “top” U.S. partners, while others would receive letters imposing duty levels.
Earlier June 30, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. was nearing deals with India and other nations ahead of the deadline reimposing higher tariffs that were paused for 90 days in April to allow time for negotiations.
“He is going to set the rate for many of these countries if they don’t come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that,” Leavitt said.
