US says Japan to get 25% rate if no deal
Trump signed an executive order extending the original July 9 deadline to August 1.
He later told reporters that the tariff letters he sent out on Monday were more or less a final offer, though there is room for some negotiation.
Japan had been facing a 24 percent tariff.
Trump's letter said the 25 percent figure is "far less" than what is needed to eliminate the "trade deficit disparity" with Tokyo.
He warned that if Japan hikes tariffs, the US will match that amount, and tack it onto the new 25 percent rate.
Trump has been accusing Tokyo of carrying out "unfair" trade practices, specifically in the agricultural and auto sectors. The letter said the relationship with Japan had been "far from Reciprocal."
Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru told reporters that Tokyo wants to avoid an easy compromise. He added that his government will do its best to seek what it needs and protect what needs protecting in negotiations.
Michael Beeman, a former US trade official in the first Trump administration, told NHK that the contents of the letter were shocking.
He added that the letter felt and looked "pretty aggressive." The deadline extension for instituting the tariffs is the last chance to find a compromise between the two nations and reach a deal, he said.
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