Trump plans to slap Japan with new tariffs amid stalled negotiations

President Donald Trump on Monday sought to turn the screws on one of the United States’ top trading partners, threatening to unilaterally slap a new tariff on Japan if it doesn’t agree to import more American goods.

“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,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “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 threat came even as Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top trade negotiator, recently met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington, and said both sides would continue to hold talks. The two spoke over the phone on Saturday and Sunday, according to the Japanese ministry of foreign affairs.

But the president on Monday appeared to be frustrated that talks have stalled for weeks, particularly as the Japanese have insisted that any deal must remove U.S. tariffs on Japanese-made automobiles and auto-parts — a dynamic American auto makers have criticized because it would mean a lower tariff for foreign cars, compared with cars that are mostly built in North America.

It echoed the sentiments he expressed in a Sunday interview, in which he suggested he would maintain a 25 percent tariff hitting Japanese autos as talks stall.

“Dear Mr. Japan, here's the story. You're going to pay a 25 percent tariff on your cars,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo".

“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,” Trump added.

Trump has also pushed Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product, using a similar tactic that he has employed with European countries.

The White House was not immediately able to provide further details, and the Japanese embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In April, Trump levied a 24 percent tariff on most Japanese goods as part of his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs but put those on pause soon after in the hope of striking a bilateral deal. It was not immediately clear whether Trump intends to reimpose that rate, or select a new level, nor did he say when he intends to send Japan a letter with further details.

U.S. trade negotiators have pressured Japan to import more American rice, soybeans and maize, according to the Japan Times. Under a deal with the World Trade Organization, Japan imports 770,000 metric tons of tariff-free rice each year, with about half of that coming from the U.S.

Trump’s post comes just days after the president similarly threatened to unilaterally impose new tariffs on Canada in an effort to force its government to abandon the so-called digital services tax, which it did Sunday night.