Rice may ignite a new trade war between Japan and America .. What is the story?

The administration of US President Donald Trump criticized the high customs duties imposed by Japan on rice, noting that the grains and Tokyo are likely to be targeted with the United States seeking to implement mutual customs duties in the coming weeks, according to the American Bloomberg Network.
Japan imposes customs duties by 700%
“Look at Japan imposing 700% customs duties on rice,” Caroline Levitte, US press secretary, told a press conference.
She pointed to a graph that seemed to show the customs duties imposed from countries, including India and the European Union.
Also read: Canada threatens an “immediate response” to American customs duties
The graph also shows the customs rates imposed by Japan on imports of beef and dairy products from the United States.
“President Trump believes in reciprocity. All he ultimately asks is fair and balanced commercial practices.”.

Steel and aluminum fees

This criticism comes in conjunction with the imposition of additional customs duties on steel and aluminum, which is scheduled to enter into force on Wednesday in light of Trump’s foot forward in his strategy aimed at gaining concessions from the United States’ trading partners and correcting unfair practices that are seen as.
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The United States is also preparing to impose mutual customs duties and 25% proposed customs duties on foreign car imports from April 2.

Avoid direct targeting of fees

Japan and some of the main commercial partners of the United States have sent officials to Washington to search for ways to avoid direct targeting of customs duties imposed by the Trump administration.
Japanese Trade Minister Yuji Moto concluded his talks with US Minister of Trade Howard Lootnik earlier this week in a failed attempt to obtain an exemption from his American counterparts.
Japan is not currently imposing customs duties on imported rice through a commercial mechanism run by the country.
The maximum amount of rice purchased through this mechanism is 770 thousand tons.
A tax of 341 yen, equivalent to $ 2.3031 per kilogram, is imposed on imported rice through non -governmental trade.
According to the Ministry of Finance data, Japan imported 675 thousand tons of rice through a governmental mechanism and 773 tons of rice through private trade in the fiscal year 2022.

No official announcement

An official at the Ministry of Agriculture told Bloomberg that the Japanese government has not officially announced the number of customs tariffs of 700%.
He added that the government does not announce the customs tariff rates as a percentage.
A government document dated in 2015 indicates that customs duties rates on the surplus of rice imports amounted to 778%, with a footnote to indicate that the number was calculated on the basis of rice prices between 1999 and 2001.
The customs duties imposed by Japan on American rice are about 204%, according to Kenichi Kawsaki, the expert and university professor.