Trump floats Japan tariff as top adviser says deals to come after July 4

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose a fresh tariff level on Japan, while his top economic adviser said the White House aims to finalize deals with partners after the July 4 holiday.

Trump’s latest round of brinkmanship with Tokyo on Monday comes just over a week before a July 9 deadline for higher tariffs to restart for dozens of trading partners, including Japan. He cited what he said was the country’s unwillingness to accept U.S. rice exports.

“They won’t take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,” Trump posted on social media. “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.”