President Donald Trump lashed out at Japan on Monday in a social media post over the U.S.-Japan trade relationship, calling the country “spoiled” for refusing to import American-grown rice.
“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 Truth Social. “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.”
While Japan produces a substantial amount of rice domestically, ranked 9th in the world for rice production by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the country is currently undergoing a rice shortage, something Japanese officials have attributed to “structural problems” of the government’s rice policy, according to The Associated Press. While Japan is currently considering emergency rice imports, Trump’s vague threat to instead only send “them a letter” might bode poorly for any prospects of increased rice trade between the two countries.
The United States’ trade relationship with Japan, among the largest of the United States, has been in limbo since Trump’s reciprocal tariff proclamation back in March, where the president imposed, before pausing for 90 days shortly thereafter, tariffs as high as 24% on imports from Japan.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has also, on behalf of Trump, called out Japan’s trade policy with the United States as it pertains to rice, claiming the country’s protectionist trade policies were a bad deal for American companies.
“Look at Japan, tariffing rice 700%,” Leavitt said at a press briefing in March. “President Trump believes in reciprocity, and it is about dang time that we have a President who actually looks out for the interest of American business and workers.”
