Trump calls Japan 'very spoiled' as he floats idea of imposing 30% or 35% tariff

WASHINGTON — 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 Washington's key 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, claiming that it has "ripped us off for 30, 40 years."

While praising the countries' "great relationship" over decades, Trump said when it comes to trade, Tokyo has been "very unfair, and those days are gone."

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, 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. It remains unclear which Japanese imports could be hit by the potentially higher tariffs.

He ruled out an extension of the pause, which was put in place with the aim of facilitating negotiations with major U.S. trading partners.

Earlier in the day, a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Kyodo News that instead of Japan, the administration will be "focusing on other trading partners ahead of July 9."

The official also confirmed that it has repeatedly raised the issue of Japan's trade barriers on rice imports.

In recent days, Trump has been particularly targeting Japan on the trade front, even as he says that "I really like the new prime minister," referring to Shigeru Ishiba, whom he last met in mid-June in Canada.

Ishiba and Trump at the time failed to narrow differences over his unilateral tariffs and merely agreed to continue ministerial negotiations.

Under Trump's 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 on imports from almost all countries.

In addition, Trump has imposed auto and other sector-based tariffs on national security grounds.

His increase in April of the tariff on imported cars to 27.5 percent from 2.5 percent has especially dealt a blow to Japan, with its auto industry accounting for nearly 30 percent of total exports to the United States by value last year.

Ishiba and Japan's chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, have repeatedly urged the Trump administration to remove the much higher tariffs.

Akazawa was in Washington for four days through Sunday for his seventh round of ministerial talks with the United States. But there was a lack of tangible progress, with sharp differences apparently remaining over the Trump administration's auto tariff.

Although Akazawa pushed back his original planned departure by one day, he was unable to secure a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key figure in Trump's trade strategy.

© KYODO