Trump demand for Japan to buy more US rice stalled trade talks — report

A Trump administration request that Japan buy more US rice caused this week's snag in bilateral trade talks as Tokyo “strongly objected” to the condition, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

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Japan’s top tariff negotiator abruptly canceled a US trip on Thursday over unspecified “points that need to be discussed at the administrative level,” a government spokesperson said, as the two sides try to hammer out details ofa July agreement on a reduced 15% tariff on US imports from Japan.

The Nikkei, citing Japanese government officials it did not identify, said a revised order from President Donald Trump included a commitment for Japan to buy more American rice.

One official criticized the proposal as an “interference in domestic affairs,” the business daily said.