Trump warns ‘spoiled’ Japan may not get a US trade deal

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump cast doubt on reaching a trade deal with Japan, a day after threatening higher tariffs on Japanese exports to the United States, claiming the country won’t buy American rice.

“We’ve dealt with Japan. I’m not sure if we’re gonna make a deal, I doubt it, with Japan,” he told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday. “They and others are so spoiled from having ripped us off for 30, 40 years that it’s really hard for them to make a deal.”

As July 9, the end of the 90-day pause on Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs,” approaches, US trade partners including Japan are looking to strike deals that they hope will appease the American president. Japanese exports to the US were hit with a 24% levy when Trump launched his global tariff offensive on April 2, before pausing them for three months.

Trump’s comment came as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya visited in Washington for a Quad meeting, along with counterparts from Australia and India. It also followed Japan’s tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa’s seventh trip to Washington for trade talks last week. Japan is a key trade partner and security ally of the US in East Asia, though relations between the two have been tested by Trump’s aggressive tariffs.

On Tuesday, Trump also said that he does not plan to extend the pause on tariffs beyond July 9.

“I’m not thinking about a pause,” he said, when asked by a reporter if he was considering extending the breathing room.

“Some countries, we won’t even allow to trade. But for the most part, we’re gonna determine a number,” he added, referring to the tariff rate.

On Monday, Trump first accused Japan of not buying rice from the US in a post on social media. That claim, however, is not true.

Last year, Japan bought $298 million worth of rice from the US, according to the US Census Bureau. Between January and April of this year, Japan bought $114 million worth of rice.

But Trump repeated the claim on Tuesday.

“They need rice so badly, but they won’t take rice,” he said. He added that the Japanese also don’t buy US cars, claiming: “We didn’t give them one car in 10 years.”

Last year, Japan imported 16,707 units of American automobiles, according to the Japan Automobile Importers Association.

Trump suggested that the likely result for Japan would be a tariff rate that has yet to be determined.

“What I’m going to do is, I’ll write them a letter to say, ‘We thank you very much, and we know you can’t do the kind of things that we need, and therefore you pay a 30%, 35% or whatever the number is that we determine,’” Trump said.

It’s unclear if Japanese officials involved in ongoing trade negotiations with the US have said they will stop buying rice from America in the future.

On Wednesday, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kazuhiko Aoki said trade talks between the two sides are continuing. The Japanese government is aware of Trump’s claims, he said, but he declined to comment on them.

“Japan will continue to engage vigorously in sincere and honest discussions toward the realization of an agreement that will benefit both Japan and the United States,” he said.

Trade negotiations between Japan and the US have remained at an impasse – chiefly over Trump’s tariffs on cars, a key pillar of the Japanese economy.

Japan has hoped that the US would lower the 25% tariff it imposed on cars, but Trump has refused to budge.

In mid-June, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit. While they agreed to push forward with trade negotiations, the meeting failed to yield a breakthrough. — CNN