Summary
- President Trump decided to impose a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japan, to which the Japanese government responded with "extreme regret."
- Trump criticized Japan's import tariffs on cars and rice as unfair, lumping South Korea and Japan together.
- Japanese media warned of the possibility of a spread of anti-U.S. movements, calling Trump's tariff policy extreme.
Trump criticizes unfair trade of Japanese cars and rice
Japan "Extremely Regrettable... Responding with Exclusion Request"
The Japanese government protested on the 3rd against the Donald Trump administration's decision to impose a 24% reciprocal tariff on Japan, calling it "extremely regrettable." They plan to continue requesting tariff exclusion from the U.S. and take necessary measures. Japanese media also noted that President Trump mentioned former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who had a 'honeymoon relationship' with him, when announcing the tariff policy.
President Trump criticized both South Korea and Japan while announcing the reciprocal tariff policy. He pointed out, "The non-tariff barriers imposed by countries like South Korea and Japan on the U.S. are particularly severe," and added, "94% of cars in Japan are Japanese-made, yet Toyota sells over a million foreign-made (outside the U.S.) cars in the U.S."
President Trump continued, "I blame past presidents who allowed this situation and neglected their duties," and declared, "From midnight (Eastern Time, 3rd), we will impose a 25% (additional) tariff on all foreign-made cars."
He also raised issues with Japan's import tariffs on rice. "Our friend Japan imposes a 700% tariff on (American) rice," he claimed, "They don't want us to sell rice." He emphasized, "They impose a 46% (tariff) on us. Certain products like cars are even higher. We demand a 24% payment from them (through reciprocal tariffs)."
President Trump also mentioned former Prime Minister Abe. He said, "Prime Minister Shinzo was a great person. Unfortunately, he lost his life to assassination," and added, "But I told him (in the past), 'Shinzo, we have work to do on trade. (The current state) is not fair.'" He continued, "He said 'I know.' He was gentlemanly and understood immediately," and claimed, "And we made a deal."
Most Japanese media criticized President Trump's reciprocal tariff policy. NHK commented, "There was an expectation that President Trump might not actually implement the tariffs, using them as a negotiation card, but today's speech has completely betrayed that expectation." They further predicted, "Such extreme measures may lead to a spread of movements seeking to distance from the U.S. among countries worldwide."
Tokyo=Correspondent Kim Il-kyu
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
