President Donald Trump is threatening Japan with higher tariffs over what he claims is the country's refusal to import American rice.
"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 posted Monday afternoon 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."
Citing Census Bureau trade data, CNN reported that Japan purchased $298 million worth of rice from the U.S. last year and $114 million worth of rice between January and April of this year.
It's unclear if Japanese officials involved in trade discussions with Trump's administration have confirmed they plan to stop buying rice from the U.S.
The president's message on Truth Social comes just days before the end of his 90-day reciprocal tariff pause on U.S. trading partners.
Trump said Friday that he plans to send out letters to foreign countries advising them of what tariff rate they will have to pay when his reciprocal tariff pause expires on July 9.
He also said at a White House news conference that he was working on trade deals with several countries, including India.
According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, those trade deals could be finalized by the Sept. 1 Labor Day holiday.
"We have 18 important trading partners. ... If we can ink 10 or 12 of the important 18, there are another important 20 relationships, then I think we could have trade wrapped up by Labor Day," Bessent said in an interview on Fox Business Network.
Before Trump implemented the pause in April, products entering the U.S. from Japan were subject to a minimum tariff rate of 24%, which dropped to the universal 10% rate when he made the announcement.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.