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Trump says Japan will receive trade letter

Trump says Japan will receive trade letter

US President Donald Trump says Japan will be the recipient of a letter related to trade, following pledges by his administration to send letters to countries outlining tariffs they would need to pay to the United States.
"I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," he said in a Truth Social post.
"We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come."
Trump did not say what terms would be outlined in the letter.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House that Trump "is going to finalise the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend".
Trump has suggested that the US will be sending letters to many countries, informing them of the new tariff rates they will face from the US after a July 9 deadline when the president's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs expires.
Hassett said of tariff negotiations with Japan that there will "still be discussions right up to the end".
Hassett also confirmed on Monday that US-Canada trade negotiations would resume after Canada scrapped plans for a digital services tax targeting US technology firms.
"Absolutely," Hassett said on Fox News Channel when asked about the talks restarting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump on Sunday evening to tell him the tax was being dropped, calling it a big victory for US tech companies.
"Very simple. Prime Minister Carney in Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," she said, crediting Trump's hard-line negotiating style for the shift.
"President Trump knows ... that every country on the planet needs to have good trade relationships with the United States, and it was a mistake for Canada to vow to implement that tax that would have hurt our tech companies here in the United States," she said.
Trump had asked Canada to drop the tax at a G7 meeting in Canada earlier in June, Hassett said.
"It's something that they've studied, now they've agreed to, and for sure that means that we can get back to the negotiations."
Canada's finance ministry said late on Sunday that Carney and Trump would resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21.
"Thank you Canada for removing your Digital Services Tax which was intended to stifle American innovation and would have been a deal breaker for any trade deal with America," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded in a post on X.
Stocks hit record highs on Wall Street on Monday morning as sentiment in the markets rose amid optimism about US trade negotiations with key partners including Canada.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also struck an optimistic tone over the potential for "a flurry" of trade deals ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which 10 per cent US tariff rates on imports from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent.
But Bessent, speaking on Bloomberg Television, warned that countries may not get extensions from that deadline even if they are negotiating in good faith as he suggested previously.
Any extensions would be up to Trump himself, Bessent said.
Leavitt said Trump was meeting his trade team this week to set tariff rates for those countries that were not negotiating.
"He is going to set the rates for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that," she said.
with AP
US President Donald Trump says Japan will be the recipient of a letter related to trade, following pledges by his administration to send letters to countries outlining tariffs they would need to pay to the United States.
"I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," he said in a Truth Social post.
"We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come."
Trump did not say what terms would be outlined in the letter.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House that Trump "is going to finalise the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend".
Trump has suggested that the US will be sending letters to many countries, informing them of the new tariff rates they will face from the US after a July 9 deadline when the president's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs expires.
Hassett said of tariff negotiations with Japan that there will "still be discussions right up to the end".
Hassett also confirmed on Monday that US-Canada trade negotiations would resume after Canada scrapped plans for a digital services tax targeting US technology firms.
"Absolutely," Hassett said on Fox News Channel when asked about the talks restarting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump on Sunday evening to tell him the tax was being dropped, calling it a big victory for US tech companies.
"Very simple. Prime Minister Carney in Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," she said, crediting Trump's hard-line negotiating style for the shift.
"President Trump knows ... that every country on the planet needs to have good trade relationships with the United States, and it was a mistake for Canada to vow to implement that tax that would have hurt our tech companies here in the United States," she said.
Trump had asked Canada to drop the tax at a G7 meeting in Canada earlier in June, Hassett said.
"It's something that they've studied, now they've agreed to, and for sure that means that we can get back to the negotiations."
Canada's finance ministry said late on Sunday that Carney and Trump would resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21.
"Thank you Canada for removing your Digital Services Tax which was intended to stifle American innovation and would have been a deal breaker for any trade deal with America," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded in a post on X.
Stocks hit record highs on Wall Street on Monday morning as sentiment in the markets rose amid optimism about US trade negotiations with key partners including Canada.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also struck an optimistic tone over the potential for "a flurry" of trade deals ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which 10 per cent US tariff rates on imports from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent.
But Bessent, speaking on Bloomberg Television, warned that countries may not get extensions from that deadline even if they are negotiating in good faith as he suggested previously.
Any extensions would be up to Trump himself, Bessent said.
Leavitt said Trump was meeting his trade team this week to set tariff rates for those countries that were not negotiating.
"He is going to set the rates for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that," she said.
with AP
US President Donald Trump says Japan will be the recipient of a letter related to trade, following pledges by his administration to send letters to countries outlining tariffs they would need to pay to the United States.
"I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," he said in a Truth Social post.
"We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come."
Trump did not say what terms would be outlined in the letter.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House that Trump "is going to finalise the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend".
Trump has suggested that the US will be sending letters to many countries, informing them of the new tariff rates they will face from the US after a July 9 deadline when the president's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs expires.
Hassett said of tariff negotiations with Japan that there will "still be discussions right up to the end".
Hassett also confirmed on Monday that US-Canada trade negotiations would resume after Canada scrapped plans for a digital services tax targeting US technology firms.
"Absolutely," Hassett said on Fox News Channel when asked about the talks restarting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump on Sunday evening to tell him the tax was being dropped, calling it a big victory for US tech companies.
"Very simple. Prime Minister Carney in Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," she said, crediting Trump's hard-line negotiating style for the shift.
"President Trump knows ... that every country on the planet needs to have good trade relationships with the United States, and it was a mistake for Canada to vow to implement that tax that would have hurt our tech companies here in the United States," she said.
Trump had asked Canada to drop the tax at a G7 meeting in Canada earlier in June, Hassett said.
"It's something that they've studied, now they've agreed to, and for sure that means that we can get back to the negotiations."
Canada's finance ministry said late on Sunday that Carney and Trump would resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21.
"Thank you Canada for removing your Digital Services Tax which was intended to stifle American innovation and would have been a deal breaker for any trade deal with America," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded in a post on X.
Stocks hit record highs on Wall Street on Monday morning as sentiment in the markets rose amid optimism about US trade negotiations with key partners including Canada.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also struck an optimistic tone over the potential for "a flurry" of trade deals ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which 10 per cent US tariff rates on imports from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent.
But Bessent, speaking on Bloomberg Television, warned that countries may not get extensions from that deadline even if they are negotiating in good faith as he suggested previously.
Any extensions would be up to Trump himself, Bessent said.
Leavitt said Trump was meeting his trade team this week to set tariff rates for those countries that were not negotiating.
"He is going to set the rates for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that," she said.
with AP
US President Donald Trump says Japan will be the recipient of a letter related to trade, following pledges by his administration to send letters to countries outlining tariffs they would need to pay to the United States.
"I have great respect for Japan, they won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage," he said in a Truth Social post.
"We'll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come."
Trump did not say what terms would be outlined in the letter.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters at the White House that Trump "is going to finalise the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend".
Trump has suggested that the US will be sending letters to many countries, informing them of the new tariff rates they will face from the US after a July 9 deadline when the president's 90-day pause on "reciprocal" tariffs expires.
Hassett said of tariff negotiations with Japan that there will "still be discussions right up to the end".
Hassett also confirmed on Monday that US-Canada trade negotiations would resume after Canada scrapped plans for a digital services tax targeting US technology firms.
"Absolutely," Hassett said on Fox News Channel when asked about the talks restarting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called Trump on Sunday evening to tell him the tax was being dropped, calling it a big victory for US tech companies.
"Very simple. Prime Minister Carney in Canada caved to President Trump and the United States of America," she said, crediting Trump's hard-line negotiating style for the shift.
"President Trump knows ... that every country on the planet needs to have good trade relationships with the United States, and it was a mistake for Canada to vow to implement that tax that would have hurt our tech companies here in the United States," she said.
Trump had asked Canada to drop the tax at a G7 meeting in Canada earlier in June, Hassett said.
"It's something that they've studied, now they've agreed to, and for sure that means that we can get back to the negotiations."
Canada's finance ministry said late on Sunday that Carney and Trump would resume trade negotiations in order to agree on a deal by July 21.
"Thank you Canada for removing your Digital Services Tax which was intended to stifle American innovation and would have been a deal breaker for any trade deal with America," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded in a post on X.
Stocks hit record highs on Wall Street on Monday morning as sentiment in the markets rose amid optimism about US trade negotiations with key partners including Canada.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also struck an optimistic tone over the potential for "a flurry" of trade deals ahead of a July 9 deadline, after which 10 per cent US tariff rates on imports from many countries are set to snap back to Trump's April 2 announced rates of 11 per cent to 50 per cent.
But Bessent, speaking on Bloomberg Television, warned that countries may not get extensions from that deadline even if they are negotiating in good faith as he suggested previously.
Any extensions would be up to Trump himself, Bessent said.
Leavitt said Trump was meeting his trade team this week to set tariff rates for those countries that were not negotiating.
"He is going to set the rates for many of these countries if they don't come to the table to negotiate in good faith, and he is meeting with his trade team this week to do that," she said.
with AP
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Asian stocks have slipped and the dollar languished near three-and-a-half-year lows as investors weigh the prospect of US interest rate cuts and the scramble for trade deals ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 deadline for tariffs. Trump said he was not considering extending the July 9 deadline for countries to negotiate trade deals with the United States, and cast doubts again that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although he expects a deal with India. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.23 per cent in early trading on Wednesday, inching away from the November 2021 top it touched last week. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.78 per cent, dragged by tech stocks. Tech-heavy Taiwan stocks and South Korea's Kospi Index also fell after US tech firms were hit hard following a strong rally in June. 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"The 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Act (OBBBA) and trade developments also have the potential to further weaken the USD if they undermine investor confidence about the U.S. economy." Investor focus over the last few days has pivoted to the progress of Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill, which is expected to add $US3.3 trillion to the national debt. The legislation heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval after US Senate Republicans passed it by the narrowest of margins. The bill has stoked fiscal worries but the reaction was relatively muted after it passed the Senate. The benchmark US 10-year yields were steady at 4.245 per cent having touched a two-month low in the previous session. Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro strategy at BNY Investment Institute, said the legislation "hard wires" a steady deterioration of the fiscal position and the debt trajectory of the US government. "The near-term impact is mostly in the price, but the uncertainty factor could keep term premia elevated. We don't think long-term yields will fall back materially in the 6-12 month horizon." The fiscal worries, trade uncertainties and the US rate path trajectory have all led investors to flee US assets and look for alternatives. Investors worry that Trump's chaotic trade policies could hit US economic growth. That has left the dollar unloved, with the greenback down over 10 per cent for the year in its worst first half performance since the 1970s. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 96.649, near its lowest since March 2022. In commodities, spot gold eased to $US3,332.19 per ounce, after surging one per cent in the previous session. The yellow metal is up 27 per cent this year on safe-haven flows. Asian stocks have slipped and the dollar languished near three-and-a-half-year lows as investors weigh the prospect of US interest rate cuts and the scramble for trade deals ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 deadline for tariffs. Trump said he was not considering extending the July 9 deadline for countries to negotiate trade deals with the United States, and cast doubts again that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although he expects a deal with India. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.23 per cent in early trading on Wednesday, inching away from the November 2021 top it touched last week. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.78 per cent, dragged by tech stocks. Tech-heavy Taiwan stocks and South Korea's Kospi Index also fell after US tech firms were hit hard following a strong rally in June. Data on Tuesday showed the US labour market remained resilient with a rise in job openings for May, sharpening the focus on the payrolls report due on Thursday as investors try to gauge when the Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates next. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, under fire from Trump to cut rates immediately, reiterated that the US central bank plans to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering interest rates. Traders are pricing in 64 basis points of cuts this year from the Fed with the odds of a move in July at 21 per cent. That maintained a bearish bias on the dollar. The euro last bought $US1.1793, just below the three-and-half-year high it touched on Tuesday. The yen was steady at 143.52 per dollar. "Any disappointing economic data can prompt further dovish repricing of FOMC rate cuts and another round of USD selling," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Act (OBBBA) and trade developments also have the potential to further weaken the USD if they undermine investor confidence about the U.S. economy." Investor focus over the last few days has pivoted to the progress of Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill, which is expected to add $US3.3 trillion to the national debt. The legislation heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval after US Senate Republicans passed it by the narrowest of margins. The bill has stoked fiscal worries but the reaction was relatively muted after it passed the Senate. The benchmark US 10-year yields were steady at 4.245 per cent having touched a two-month low in the previous session. Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro strategy at BNY Investment Institute, said the legislation "hard wires" a steady deterioration of the fiscal position and the debt trajectory of the US government. "The near-term impact is mostly in the price, but the uncertainty factor could keep term premia elevated. We don't think long-term yields will fall back materially in the 6-12 month horizon." The fiscal worries, trade uncertainties and the US rate path trajectory have all led investors to flee US assets and look for alternatives. Investors worry that Trump's chaotic trade policies could hit US economic growth. That has left the dollar unloved, with the greenback down over 10 per cent for the year in its worst first half performance since the 1970s. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 96.649, near its lowest since March 2022. In commodities, spot gold eased to $US3,332.19 per ounce, after surging one per cent in the previous session. The yellow metal is up 27 per cent this year on safe-haven flows. Asian stocks have slipped and the dollar languished near three-and-a-half-year lows as investors weigh the prospect of US interest rate cuts and the scramble for trade deals ahead of President Donald Trump's July 9 deadline for tariffs. Trump said he was not considering extending the July 9 deadline for countries to negotiate trade deals with the United States, and cast doubts again that an agreement could be reached with Japan, although he expects a deal with India. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.23 per cent in early trading on Wednesday, inching away from the November 2021 top it touched last week. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.78 per cent, dragged by tech stocks. Tech-heavy Taiwan stocks and South Korea's Kospi Index also fell after US tech firms were hit hard following a strong rally in June. Data on Tuesday showed the US labour market remained resilient with a rise in job openings for May, sharpening the focus on the payrolls report due on Thursday as investors try to gauge when the Federal Reserve is likely to cut rates next. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, under fire from Trump to cut rates immediately, reiterated that the US central bank plans to "wait and learn more" about the impact of tariffs on inflation before lowering interest rates. Traders are pricing in 64 basis points of cuts this year from the Fed with the odds of a move in July at 21 per cent. That maintained a bearish bias on the dollar. The euro last bought $US1.1793, just below the three-and-half-year high it touched on Tuesday. The yen was steady at 143.52 per dollar. "Any disappointing economic data can prompt further dovish repricing of FOMC rate cuts and another round of USD selling," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. "The 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Act (OBBBA) and trade developments also have the potential to further weaken the USD if they undermine investor confidence about the U.S. economy." Investor focus over the last few days has pivoted to the progress of Trump's massive tax-and-spending bill, which is expected to add $US3.3 trillion to the national debt. The legislation heads to the House of Representatives for possible final approval after US Senate Republicans passed it by the narrowest of margins. The bill has stoked fiscal worries but the reaction was relatively muted after it passed the Senate. The benchmark US 10-year yields were steady at 4.245 per cent having touched a two-month low in the previous session. Aninda Mitra, head of Asia macro strategy at BNY Investment Institute, said the legislation "hard wires" a steady deterioration of the fiscal position and the debt trajectory of the US government. "The near-term impact is mostly in the price, but the uncertainty factor could keep term premia elevated. We don't think long-term yields will fall back materially in the 6-12 month horizon." The fiscal worries, trade uncertainties and the US rate path trajectory have all led investors to flee US assets and look for alternatives. Investors worry that Trump's chaotic trade policies could hit US economic growth. That has left the dollar unloved, with the greenback down over 10 per cent for the year in its worst first half performance since the 1970s. The dollar index, which measures the US currency against six rivals, was at 96.649, near its lowest since March 2022. In commodities, spot gold eased to $US3,332.19 per ounce, after surging one per cent in the previous session. The yellow metal is up 27 per cent this year on safe-haven flows.

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