US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a “30% or 35%” tariff on Japan if a deal between the two countries has not arrived before the next week’s deadline.
It would be above 24% tariff Japan was killed on 2 April as part of Trump’s so -called “liberation day”, when he announced the import duties standing on countries around the world.
Tariffs on most trading partners were later reduced to 10% for 90 days to give time to interact with Washington.
This break is due to ending July 9 and Trump has said that he is not thinking about extending the deadline.
Trump also continued to doubt that an agreement could be reached with Tokyo.
“We have worked with Japan. I am not sure we are going to do a deal. I suspect it,” he told reporters in the Air Force on Tuesday.
The Japanese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to the BBC request for comments.
Like many other countries, most of Japan’s exports currently face 10% levy in the US. There is also 25% import tax on Japanese vehicles and parts, while steel and aluminum are subject to 50% tariffs.
Earlier on Tuesday, Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that he would not make a concession that could hurt his country’s farmers to attack an agreement with Washington.
Trump, while focusing on Japanese rice imports, Trump criticized countries on his trade policies.
He wrote on his true social platform, “To show people how bad countries have become in relation to the United States, and I have great respect for Japan, they will not take our rice, and still they have a large lack of rice.”
Trump originally stated that he would sign 90 trade agreements during a break on the new tariff, but only the UK has made a deal with the US since then.
