US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of up to 35% on Japanese imports, citing a lack of progress in trade negotiations ahead of a key deadline next week.
Speaking aboard Air Force One on Tuesday, Trump cast doubt on the chances of reaching an agreement with Japan before the 9 July deadline, saying Tokyo remained resistant to allowing more American rice into its market and continued to benefit from what he described as an imbalanced automotive trade relationship.
“I’m not sure we’re going to reach a deal,” Trump told reporters. “I doubt it with Japan — they’re very tough.”
Washington imposed a 10% tariff on imports from most trading partners in April. However, it delayed higher tariffs for dozens of countries to allow time for bilateral talks. That grace period is set to expire on July 9, at which point steeper tariffs will automatically take effect unless agreements are reached.
So far, only two such agreements have been finalised — a framework deal with the United Kingdom and a temporary arrangement with China aimed at easing tit-for-tat tariffs.
Trump said he intended to send a formal letter to Tokyo, urging Japan to pay a 30% to 35% tariff — “whatever the number is that we determine” — blaming the country for the “very unfair” trade deficit with the United States.
“It’s very unfair to the American people,” Trump said, suggesting Japan had long taken advantage of favourable trade terms.
Despite being a longstanding ally and the largest foreign investor in the US, Japan has not been spared from the 10% baseline tariffs and faces additional duties on key exports such as vehicles, steel and aluminium.
Japanese trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa, speaking to reporters in Washington last month, acknowledged that some progress had been made during a fifth round of negotiations. However, he conceded: “We’ve not been able to find a point of agreement yet.”
