Trump threatens Japan with up to 35 pct tariff ahead of deadline
WASHINGTON (July 2): US President Donald Trump said Tuesday a trade deal with Japan was unlikely before the July 9 deadline, threatening to raise tariffs on Japanese imports to 30 or 35 per cent.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump criticized Japan's reluctance to accept imports of US rice, as well as the imbalance in auto trade between the two countries.
'I'm not sure we're going to make a deal,' Trump said. 'I doubt it with Japan, they're very tough.'
While Trump imposed a sweeping 10 per cent tariff on imports from most trading partners in April, he unveiled — then paused — higher rates on dozens of economies to allow room for negotiations.
This pause expires July 9, meaning the elevated rates are due to kick in next week if countries fail to reach agreements with Washington to avert them.
To date, only two pacts have been announced. One was a broad framework with Britain and the other a deal to temporarily lower steep tit-for-tat duties with China.
Trump said he was going to write a letter to Japan, asking them to 'pay a 30 per cent, 35 per cent or whatever the number is that we determine' because of the 'big trade deficit' with Tokyo.
'It's very unfair to the American people,' he said.
Japan, a key US ally and its biggest investor, is subject to the same 10 per cent baseline tariffs imposed on most nations plus steeper levies on cars, steel and aluminium.
Ryosei Akazawa, Tokyo's trade envoy, told Japanese reporters in Washington last month that some progress had been made during a fifth round of talks with the United States.
However, he added: 'We've not been able to find a point of agreement yet'. – AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
38 minutes ago
- The Star
2nd LD Writethru: U.S. House passes Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill
NEW YORK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill with a vote of 218 to 214 on Thursday. The bill will be sent to the president's desk for signing by the deadline of July 4, which was set by Trump. Two Republican representatives, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voted against the bill. The House passed an earlier draft of the bill in May and sent it to the Senate, but the draft was broadly revised there and narrowly passed senators' vote with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie on Tuesday. The tax and spending bill includes tax cuts and funding boosts for military expenditure and border security. What's contentious is that the bill is forecast to add 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars to the national debt currently at a high level while stripping millions of people of Medicaid and food stamps. This is Trump's first major legislative achievement in his second term. Republican Congress members were widely divided on the bill, which passed the Senate and House voting only after the president and his Capitol Hill allies pressured those Republicans with different ideas to stand in line. When signing the legislation that will be sent to the president, House Speaker Mike Johnson said that with the passage of the bill, "we'd have to quite literally fix every area of public policy." "Everything was an absolute disaster under the Biden-Harris, radical, woke, progressive Democrat regime, and we took the best effort that we could, in one big, beautiful bill, to fix as much of it as we could," he added. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt hailed the passage of the bill Thursday, commenting in a statement that "President Trump's One Big, Beautiful Bill delivers on the commonsense agenda that nearly 80 million Americans voted for -- the largest middle-class tax cut in history, permanent border security, massive military funding, and restoring fiscal sanity." "The pro-growth policies within this historic legislation are going to fuel an economic boom like we've never seen before. President Trump looks forward to signing the One Big, Beautiful Bill into law to officially usher in the Golden Age of America," she added. She said that the bill-signing ceremony is planned in the White House at 5 p.m. Friday Eastern Time (2100 GMT), which happens to be the Independence Day holiday. The White House posted on its website that "Now, the largest middle-class tax cut in American history -- and so much more -- is on its way to President Trump's desk." "Again and again, Democrats tried to block historic tax relief, increased border security, higher wages, an expanded Child Tax Credit, No Tax on Tips, No Tax on Overtime, No Tax on Social Security, savings accounts for newborns, and so much more -- but again and again, President Trump and Republicans fought and won for the American people," the post said.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
1st LD: U.S. House passes Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill
NEW YORK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill with a vote of 218 to 214 on Thursday. The bill will be sent to the president's desk for signing by the deadline of July 4, which was set by Trump. Two Republican representatives, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, voted against the bill. The House passed an earlier draft of the bill in May and sent it to the Senate, but the draft was broadly revised there and narrowly passed senators' vote with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie on Tuesday. The tax and spending bill includes tax cuts and funding boosts for military expenditure and border security. What's contentious is that the bill is forecast to add 3.3 trillion U.S. dollars to the national debt currently at a high level while stripping millions of people off Medicaid and food stamps. This is Trump's first major legislative achievement in his second term. Republican Congress members were widely divided on the bill, which passed the Senate and House voting only after the president and his Capitol Hill allies pressured those Republicans with different ideas to stand in line.
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
U.S. stocks close higher after strong June jobs report
NEW YORK, July 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks climbed to fresh record highs on Thursday after a stronger-than-expected June jobs report bolstered confidence in the economy. The stock market closed early following the traditional schedule before Independence Day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 344.11 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 44,828.53. The S&P 500 gained 0.83 percent to finish at 6,279.35, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.02 percent to 20,601.10. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended at new all-time highs. Gains were broad-based across most sectors. Technology led the charge with a 1.29 percent increase, followed by financials, which rose 1.08 percent. Industrials climbed 0.82 percent, and consumer discretionary added 0.75 percent. Materials was the only sector to finish unchanged. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 147,000 in June in the United States, topping economists' expectations for 110,000 and exceeding the upwardly revised 144,000 in May. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1 percent, better than the forecast increase to 4.3 percent. "The biggest implication from the employment report would seem to be there's no way the Fed's cutting rates in July, and it's a question mark as to whether rates are cut at all this year," Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, said in an interview with CNBC. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the House of Representatives passed U.S. President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill just before the holiday recess, marking a key political victory for the administration ahead of the July 4 break. Shares of the world's largest technology companies, which have helped drive the recent market rally, were mostly higher on Thursday. Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon and Broadcom each rose more than 1 percent, extending their recent gains. Apple, Alphabet and Meta Platforms also ended the session in positive territory. Tesla shares slipped slightly, capping a volatile week for the electric vehicle maker. The stock market will be closed Friday in observance of Independence Day.
