Donald Trump appeared to threaten Japan with another tariff hike as he took to Truth Social to make a bizarre complaint about the country's decisions around rice.
The president took to Truth Social on Monday (June 30) to declare that the US would be 'sending [Japan] a letter'; an apparent reference to an earlier declaration in which Trump said his administration would be sending out letters to tell foreign countries what their new tariff rates could be.
In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, the president singled out Japan as a recipient as one of these letters, saying: “Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story: You’re going to pay a 25% tariff on your cars."
Trump's comments came after delays in trade talks between the US and Japan, which has insisted that any deal must remove US tariffs on Japanese-made cars and auto-parts.
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Trump added in his interview: “They won’t take our cars, right? And yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States. It’s not fair."
But the issue for Trump didn't end with cars, and in his Truth Social post he made a claim regarding Japan's habits of purchasing of rice from the US.
He wrote: "To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage. 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."
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It's unclear exactly where Trump's claim that Japan 'won't take' US rice has come from, as US Census Bureau trade data reports that Japan bought $298 million worth of rice from the US last year, as well as another $114 million worth between January and April of this year.
However, it's possible that the purchase of rice has come up in the ongoing trade negotiations.
According to CNN, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi confirmed that trade talks between the US and Japan are ongoing, however, he declined to comment on Trump's claim.
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He said: "While we refrain from disclosing the specifics of our discussions with the US, Japan will continue to vigorously pursue sincere and honest discussions with the aim of achieving an agreement that will benefit both Japan and the US."
On Monday, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said of the trade talks: “Nothing is over. I know what he just posted, but there’ll still be discussions right up till the end. Even if we get a framework, then there’s still gonna be things to finalize.”
Japan has most recently been subject to the universal 10 percent tariff rate, after briefly being subject to a minimum tariff of 24 percent before Trump announced a pause to the increase.
Topics: Donald Trump, Japan, Tariffs, Truth Social, Food and Drink
Emily Brown