WASHINGTON — Japan’s hopes of securing a trade deal with the U.S. before the current pause on tariffs expires July 9 took another blow Monday, when President Donald Trump described the ally as “spoiled” and hinted that he will send a letter declaring the trade talks over.
“To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.”
The “letter” is a notice he intends to send to all trading partners on July 9, conveying what the tariff rates on their goods will be.
In a Fox News Channel interview that was televised Sunday, the president said the letter will mark “the end of the trade deal.”
Japan’s top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, returned to Tokyo from the U.S. Monday, after the latest round of talks in Washington failed to bring the two sides together on how to resolve the U.S.’s yawning trade deficit with Japan.
Akazawa met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for about an hour Friday, then spoke briefly with him again on the phone Saturday.
On Sunday, Akazawa departed for Tokyo without meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the two other top negotiators. For now, talks will continue at the working level.
“We will continue to work vigorously to achieve an agreement that benefits both Japan and the U.S. while firmly protecting our national interests,” Akazawa told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after landing.
Akazawa, who serves as minister for economic revitalization, later met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at his office to brief him on the status of the negotiations.
David Boling, director for Japan and Asian trade at the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said that “the window has probably closed” to reach a deal before July 9.
“Trade negotiations are like sports, and you need momentum,” he told a seminar at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA here Monday. Akazawa’s multiple visits leading up to the Trump-Ishiba meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit on June 16 had indicated momentum for such a deal.
But with no breakthrough reached, “we’ve lost the momentum,” said Boling, a former negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Ishiba will be reluctant to reach a deal, “especially a lopsided deal,” ahead of the July 20 upper house election, Boling added, saying that the next opportunity for momentum to recover will be in September, after the summer holiday season.
The sticking point is the Trump administration’s objective that Japan reduce its trade imbalance with the U.S. with immediate effect. Tokyo has proposed that the two sides cooperate in areas such as shipbuilding and aviation, but such projects would not lead to a speedy reduction of the U.S. trade deficit.
As a result, the talks have essentially hit a deadlock, with Trump airing his grievances over the trade deficit in the Fox News interview.
“We give Japan no cars, they won’t take our cars, and yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States,” Trump said. “It’s not fair.”
Most Japanese drivers don’t even want U.S. made cars. Too damned big.
And would they buy American rice? Enough to have any meaningful impact on the balance of trade anyway?
American cars don’t meet the road standards for Japanese roads. American automobile manufacturers don’t make K cars. Not to mention reliability, parts, etc.
he did the same thing with Canada the other day saying that the talks are over. today, i saw that the talks are starting again. TACO will TACO
🌮 treats this like a tv show – “Tune in next week to find out if tariffs are gonna stick… or double… or go away for good! Who knows?!”
Don’t even bother paying attention to 🌮.
After all, a 🌮 is gonna 🌮.
Well who wants to deal with an overgrown bloated baby anyway? Good riddance to him.
can this guy disappear already
Yes let’s decouple from each other. Byeee
I think it’s time Japan looked at opening talks with the Chinese. They are obviously not going to be protected by the treaties with the US, and are going to end up in the Chinese orbit sooner or later. Better to do it before a war starts.
There are hardly any American cars that would be smaller than “full size” here, and the majority are gigantic SUVs. And the quality is shit compared to Japanese cars. No one wants them.
😴 is he done talking yet
Umm.. Okay. Fine I guess? Take your toys and go home.
Those US companies that need Japanese goods will still have to buy them, because mostly what they’re buying is impossible to get anywhere else, so the US buyer will need to go through a third party and it’ll get more expensive.
Japan mostly buys agricultural goods from the USA and there are plenty of other places to buy agricultural goods, many much closer to Japan and with the same quality.
Someone should say to Trump, “You just don’t have the cards.” What you’re selling? Japan isn’t desperate for. What Japan is selling? You can’t get it anywhere else.
Trump can’t be negotiated with. He’s a fucking clown and a bully. King Trump can fuck himself. Japan should tell him that and find other trading partners. The current game is rigged and Japan has no chance of being treated fairly at all by Trump.
Also, California rice doesn’t taste nearly as good as Japanese rice, and US cars suck ass.
Gee…what are we going to do with $1 trillion in US Treasuries?
Can’t the world just ignore him?
I’ve lived in Japan most of my life, and honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever visit America. But if you think Japanese people aren’t interested in foreign cars, especially American ones, you’re crazy. The problem isn’t demand. It’s the lack of options. Japan is extremely protective. Meanwhile, American brands already have a grip on Japan in other markets. I just like having choices, we don’t, and I can’t believe people here just accept it.
All this talk about rice? I’ve lived in a farming area for over 20 years. The government used to indirectly controls the used car market. (The government set up the system in a way that makes it easier to sell cars abroad than to keep them on the road here.) The Japanese brought in cheap foreign labor. These workers stayed, raised families, and their kids were born here. So now they’re Japanese. And they own the used car market. Farming is next. And when it goes, they’re not going to grow the Japanese rice everyone is so protective of.
Trump calling other spoiled lmao
US full size SUV owner in Japan reporting in. They do not suit Japanese roads full stop. Impossible to navigate narrow roads and park. Even land cruisers do a better job of being suited for the roads here. And don’t even get me started on fuel efficiency, maintenance and repairs.
Lol American cars wouldn’t even fit on their roads well
Has he ever tried cooking Rice imported from Japan versus cooking American rice? Totally different quality and blows anything home grown out the water.
It requires less rinsing, is more fluffy and tastes incredible. And they’ve been doing it for thousands of years perfecting it.
I think this is just another excuse for Trump to put tariffs on Japan to “rebalance” their trade.
Trump has always been quite anti-Japanese despite MAGA favor for Japan. He kept saying Japan didn’t pay its fair share for the bases (not knowing that Japan actually paid the US to host US bases on Japanese soil), that Japan should pay more (and did that stupid stunt where he handed Abe a bill which Abe didnt understand), now calls for Japan to spend more on their military (despite the US disarming Japan after WW2), and now demands Japan buy more American cars and rice (not exactly sending their best).
Canadian here: The entire world needs to collectively turn its back on the United States. Stop all trade negotiations *with them* and very publicly start working with each other on better trade deals with countries *other* than the US.
Trump is a bad faith negotiator. That’s been proven time and again. Trying to make a deal with him is a waste of time and emotional energy.
American cars (a) Won’t fit (b) Drive on the wrong side (c) are incredibly shitty compared to other Japanese options.
…
Checkmate…?
I’m curious, but why are American cars so big? It seems like having a big car would increase the fatality rate in accidents, so it doesn’t seem like there’s much good about it.
Good please end it then grift japan …well see if japan dumps all US bond what woukd happen!!!
I wonder if I should just buy the switch two right now
It’s not that US products aren’t popular in Japan.
Just look at iPhone dominance.
No one wants that shit in Japan.
The cars are shit, both in terms of reliability and mileage, and their size is a liability, esp in the many narrow roads.
Calrose is SO unpopular that even when Japanese rice sold out in the recent shortages, the calrose bags were piled high, completely untouched, even though it’s much cheaper. Because to people who choose specific varietals to eat 3x a day, it takes like shit. Just like trump steaks.
Coming from all people
American rice is terrible. We don’t even eat the rice here because it sucks.
30 comments
WASHINGTON — Japan’s hopes of securing a trade deal with the U.S. before the current pause on tariffs expires July 9 took another blow Monday, when President Donald Trump described the ally as “spoiled” and hinted that he will send a letter declaring the trade talks over.
“To show people how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America, and I have great respect for Japan, they won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “In other words, we’ll just be sending them a letter, and we love having them as a Trading Partner for many years to come.”
The “letter” is a notice he intends to send to all trading partners on July 9, conveying what the tariff rates on their goods will be.
In a Fox News Channel interview that was televised Sunday, the president said the letter will mark “the end of the trade deal.”
Japan’s top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, returned to Tokyo from the U.S. Monday, after the latest round of talks in Washington failed to bring the two sides together on how to resolve the U.S.’s yawning trade deficit with Japan.
Akazawa met with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick for about an hour Friday, then spoke briefly with him again on the phone Saturday.
On Sunday, Akazawa departed for Tokyo without meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent or U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the two other top negotiators. For now, talks will continue at the working level.
“We will continue to work vigorously to achieve an agreement that benefits both Japan and the U.S. while firmly protecting our national interests,” Akazawa told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport after landing.
Akazawa, who serves as minister for economic revitalization, later met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at his office to brief him on the status of the negotiations.
David Boling, director for Japan and Asian trade at the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, said that “the window has probably closed” to reach a deal before July 9.
“Trade negotiations are like sports, and you need momentum,” he told a seminar at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA here Monday. Akazawa’s multiple visits leading up to the Trump-Ishiba meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit on June 16 had indicated momentum for such a deal.
But with no breakthrough reached, “we’ve lost the momentum,” said Boling, a former negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Ishiba will be reluctant to reach a deal, “especially a lopsided deal,” ahead of the July 20 upper house election, Boling added, saying that the next opportunity for momentum to recover will be in September, after the summer holiday season.
The sticking point is the Trump administration’s objective that Japan reduce its trade imbalance with the U.S. with immediate effect. Tokyo has proposed that the two sides cooperate in areas such as shipbuilding and aviation, but such projects would not lead to a speedy reduction of the U.S. trade deficit.
As a result, the talks have essentially hit a deadlock, with Trump airing his grievances over the trade deficit in the Fox News interview.
“We give Japan no cars, they won’t take our cars, and yet we take millions and millions of their cars into the United States,” Trump said. “It’s not fair.”
Most Japanese drivers don’t even want U.S. made cars. Too damned big.
And would they buy American rice? Enough to have any meaningful impact on the balance of trade anyway?
American cars don’t meet the road standards for Japanese roads. American automobile manufacturers don’t make K cars. Not to mention reliability, parts, etc.
he did the same thing with Canada the other day saying that the talks are over. today, i saw that the talks are starting again. TACO will TACO
🌮 treats this like a tv show – “Tune in next week to find out if tariffs are gonna stick… or double… or go away for good! Who knows?!”
Don’t even bother paying attention to 🌮.
After all, a 🌮 is gonna 🌮.
Well who wants to deal with an overgrown bloated baby anyway? Good riddance to him.
can this guy disappear already
Yes let’s decouple from each other. Byeee
I think it’s time Japan looked at opening talks with the Chinese. They are obviously not going to be protected by the treaties with the US, and are going to end up in the Chinese orbit sooner or later. Better to do it before a war starts.
There are hardly any American cars that would be smaller than “full size” here, and the majority are gigantic SUVs. And the quality is shit compared to Japanese cars. No one wants them.
😴 is he done talking yet
Umm.. Okay. Fine I guess? Take your toys and go home.
Those US companies that need Japanese goods will still have to buy them, because mostly what they’re buying is impossible to get anywhere else, so the US buyer will need to go through a third party and it’ll get more expensive.
Japan mostly buys agricultural goods from the USA and there are plenty of other places to buy agricultural goods, many much closer to Japan and with the same quality.
Someone should say to Trump, “You just don’t have the cards.” What you’re selling? Japan isn’t desperate for. What Japan is selling? You can’t get it anywhere else.
Trump can’t be negotiated with. He’s a fucking clown and a bully. King Trump can fuck himself. Japan should tell him that and find other trading partners. The current game is rigged and Japan has no chance of being treated fairly at all by Trump.
Also, California rice doesn’t taste nearly as good as Japanese rice, and US cars suck ass.
Gee…what are we going to do with $1 trillion in US Treasuries?
Can’t the world just ignore him?
I’ve lived in Japan most of my life, and honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever visit America. But if you think Japanese people aren’t interested in foreign cars, especially American ones, you’re crazy. The problem isn’t demand. It’s the lack of options. Japan is extremely protective. Meanwhile, American brands already have a grip on Japan in other markets. I just like having choices, we don’t, and I can’t believe people here just accept it.
All this talk about rice? I’ve lived in a farming area for over 20 years. The government used to indirectly controls the used car market. (The government set up the system in a way that makes it easier to sell cars abroad than to keep them on the road here.) The Japanese brought in cheap foreign labor. These workers stayed, raised families, and their kids were born here. So now they’re Japanese. And they own the used car market. Farming is next. And when it goes, they’re not going to grow the Japanese rice everyone is so protective of.
Trump calling other spoiled lmao
US full size SUV owner in Japan reporting in. They do not suit Japanese roads full stop. Impossible to navigate narrow roads and park. Even land cruisers do a better job of being suited for the roads here. And don’t even get me started on fuel efficiency, maintenance and repairs.
Lol American cars wouldn’t even fit on their roads well
Has he ever tried cooking Rice imported from Japan versus cooking American rice? Totally different quality and blows anything home grown out the water.
It requires less rinsing, is more fluffy and tastes incredible. And they’ve been doing it for thousands of years perfecting it.
I think this is just another excuse for Trump to put tariffs on Japan to “rebalance” their trade.
Trump has always been quite anti-Japanese despite MAGA favor for Japan. He kept saying Japan didn’t pay its fair share for the bases (not knowing that Japan actually paid the US to host US bases on Japanese soil), that Japan should pay more (and did that stupid stunt where he handed Abe a bill which Abe didnt understand), now calls for Japan to spend more on their military (despite the US disarming Japan after WW2), and now demands Japan buy more American cars and rice (not exactly sending their best).
Canadian here: The entire world needs to collectively turn its back on the United States. Stop all trade negotiations *with them* and very publicly start working with each other on better trade deals with countries *other* than the US.
Trump is a bad faith negotiator. That’s been proven time and again. Trying to make a deal with him is a waste of time and emotional energy.
American cars (a) Won’t fit (b) Drive on the wrong side (c) are incredibly shitty compared to other Japanese options.
…
Checkmate…?
I’m curious, but why are American cars so big? It seems like having a big car would increase the fatality rate in accidents, so it doesn’t seem like there’s much good about it.
Good please end it then grift japan …well see if japan dumps all US bond what woukd happen!!!
I wonder if I should just buy the switch two right now
It’s not that US products aren’t popular in Japan.
Just look at iPhone dominance.
No one wants that shit in Japan.
The cars are shit, both in terms of reliability and mileage, and their size is a liability, esp in the many narrow roads.
Calrose is SO unpopular that even when Japanese rice sold out in the recent shortages, the calrose bags were piled high, completely untouched, even though it’s much cheaper. Because to people who choose specific varietals to eat 3x a day, it takes like shit. Just like trump steaks.
Coming from all people
American rice is terrible. We don’t even eat the rice here because it sucks.