US-Japan trade talks falter over Trump’s rice demand: here’s what we know

Japan-US trade talks stall as Trump demands rice imports [https://invezz.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/US-Japan-1.png] Japan-US trade talks just hit a major snag over rice. According to a Nikkei report, the Trump administration is pushing Japan to import more American rice, and Tokyo is not having it. Japanese officials are calling this demand completely out of line, saying it messes with their domestic farm policies and breaks previous agreements they had in place. They’re so upset about it that Japan’s top trade negotiator just canceled a planned trip to the US This development is derailing efforts to nail down the details on broader trade and investment agreements between the two countries. Rice might seem like a small issue, but it’s clearly become a sticking point that’s bigger than anyone expected. TRADE TALKS SNAGGED OVER RICE PURCHASE DEMAND This rice dispute couldn’t have come at a worse time. Japan and the US were actually making good progress on a big trade deal from July that would cut American tariffs on Japanese imports, including cars down to 15%. They were also working out a massive $550 billion…