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Japan has said that it would not sacrifice its farmers to secure tariff exemption from the US, as Tokyo and Washington rigorned their positions in the stand-off of rice diplomacy and hopes of an adjacent trade deal between colleagues.
Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi’s comment came as Donald Trump Cast on Tuesday JapanIn other countries, as “bad” and clear progress without the latest round of trade talks in Washington ended.
“We are not thinking about doing anything that will sacrifice the farm area,” Hayashi said.
According to people familiar with negotiations, the weeks of dialogue have produced several proposals, which is aimed at breaking a deadlock, including Japan and more American energy and agricultural products and new joint funding for American manufacturing.
But no one has managed to move the Trump administration’s commitment to reduce its trade deficit with Japan, which was at $ 63 billion for the Japanese financial year ended in March.
On Monday, in a post at his true social site, Trump focused on his IRE on rice.
Trump wrote, “To show people how to be damaged in relation to the United States, and I have great respect for Japan, they will not take our rice, and yet they have a shortage of rice on a large scale.”
A bad crop and policy combination has operated rice prices More than double In the previous year, the cause of temporary decrease, heavy queues for cheap rice and forced to tap their strategic rice reserve to provide relief to the government.
Production of Japanese rice has been an intensive political issue for decades. The crop has weakened a national importance and has been an important basis of support for farmers for long -lasting liberal Democratic Party.
The US exports some rice tariffs to Japan under a world trade organization “minimum access” agreement, but Japan puts a levy on any imports beyond the 770,000 ton of a range of 770,000 tonnes.
Tokyo initially expected a fast-track trade deal with Trump. But the two sides dug, LDP now faces the possibility of a campaign for the upper house elections without a deal on July 20, according to people with direct knowledge of talks. It will take a risk for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, suffering from low approval ratings and has a relatively delicate hold on Parliament.
It also comes because clouds are gathering on a Japanese economy which depends a lot on its car industry. According to the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, the country’s motor vehicle industry directly and indirectly employs more than 5.5MN.
Tokyo is Continuously demanded a complete discount Washington’s blankets on automotive imports have been threatened by Tram to impose on Japan with 25 percent of tariffs from 25 percent of tariffs, as well as 24 percent “mutual” tariff. Those levies have been stopped by the time limit of 9 July to sign the trade deal.
But in the short term of Japan, the possibility of achieving any tariff exemption appeared to be low and falling, two people said close to the discussion.
In an interview with Fox News in the last weekend, Trump described “unfair” business relations in a bluntly, claiming that the US “” America “[takes] Millions and millions of Japanese cars, while the Japanese “will not take our cars”.
Japan’s largest auto companies have established large manufacturing facilities in the US for decades. Car and truck exports to the US were a total of 1.37MN vehicles in 2024, with the automotive sector exported about 28 percent of the goods in Japan to the US.
The US, in turn, exports some vehicles to Japan, where the American car model is generally seen as very large and fuel consumables.
“I could send one [letter] For Japan: ‘Dear Shri Japan, here is the story’, “Trump continued.” You are going to pay 25 percent tariff on your cars. ,
