Trump calls Japan 'very spoiled' as he floats idea of imposing 30% or 35% tariff
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated the idea of further increasing tariffs on imports from Japan, envisioning a level as high as 30 percent or 35 percent in his latest salvo against the key U.S. ally amid stalled bilateral trade negotiations.
"I'm not sure we're going to make a deal. I doubt it," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, calling Japan "very tough" and "very spoiled."
He reiterated his complaint that Japan does not import enough cars or rice from the United States. "On trade, they've been very unfair, and those days are gone," he said.
Trump said he would send a letter to Japan reading, "'Thank you very much...we know you can't do the kind of things that we need, and therefore you pay a 30 percent, a 35 percent or whatever the number is that we determine.'"
Trump made the comments when asked whether he was considering extending his administration's 90-day pause on country-specific tariffs, set to expire on July 9.
The pause was put in place with the aim of facilitating negotiations with major U.S. trading partners. In recent days, Trump has been particularly targeting Japan on the trade front.
Under his so-called reciprocal "Liberation Day" tariffs, Japan is currently facing an additional tariff of 14 percent, for a total rate of 24 percent.
The 90-day pause applies only to country-specific tariffs under the scheme, covering about 60 trading partners that have notable trade surpluses with the United States. It does not affect his baseline duty of 10 percent against imports globally.
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