Source: Financial Times [UK]
“Japan has said it will not sacrifice its farmers to secure tariff exemptions from the US, as Tokyo and Washington hardened their positions in a rice diplomacy stand-off and hopes of an imminent trade deal between the allies faded. The comments from Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi on Tuesday came as Donald Trump cast Japan, among other countries, as ‘spoiled’ and the latest round of trade negotiations in Washington ended without clear progress. … Japanese rice production has for decades been an intensely political issue. The crop commands an outsized national importance and farmers have been a crucial base of support for the long-ruling Liberal Democratic party. The US exports some rice tariff free to Japan under a World Trade Organization ‘minimum access’ agreement, but Japan imposes a levy on any imports beyond a 770,000 tonne limit.” (07/01/25)