Nikkei Refutes "700% Tariff on U.S. Rice" Claim as Inaccurate
U.S. Lays Groundwork Ahead of Reciprocal Tariff Measures
The U.S. Donald Trump administration has targeted Japan, claiming that Japan imposes a 700% tariff on U.S.-produced rice. However, as with President Donald Trump's previous statement that "Korea's tariffs on the U.S. are four times higher than those of the U.S.," this claim was made without fact-checking. This is interpreted as a preparatory move to justify the mutual tariff imposition scheduled for April 2.
White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt said on the 11th (local time), citing countries and products that impose relatively high tariffs compared to the U.S., "Look at Japan. They impose a 700% tariff on U.S.-produced rice."
In response to this claim, Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on the 12th refuted that the figures cited by the U.S. do not correspond to the facts. Nikkei pointed out that the U.S. did not consider Japan's structure of importing a certain amount of U.S. rice duty-free and that the tariff rate was estimated based on outdated data from 10 years ago. Currently, the Japanese government imports a minimum market access (MMA) volume of 770,000 tons duty-free or at low tariff rates under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement.
Nikkei also estimated that the 700% tariff rate was likely a figure before the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan adjusted the effective tariff rate considering market price fluctuations. In 2013, the Ministry revised the effective tariff rate on U.S.-produced rice to 280%, reflecting market price changes. Although this tariff rate may vary depending on international market price fluctuations, even considering this, the effective tariff rate is expected to be around 400%.
The Trump administration's "exaggerated rhetoric" is not the first time. Earlier, in his first congressional address on the 4th, President Trump claimed that Korea's tariffs on the U.S. are four times higher than those of the U.S. Following this statement, Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained through a press release that "the effective tariff rate on imports from the U.S. as of 2024 is about 0.79%." The effective tariff rate is the tariff revenue divided by the total import value from the U.S.
There is an interpretation that the Trump administration's reckless criticism without fact-checking specific countries is a strategic move to secure legitimacy ahead of the mutual tariff imposition. President Trump announced on April 2 that he would impose reciprocal tariffs considering all tariff and non-tariff barriers of each country. Since negotiations using tariffs as leverage have proven effective, it is anticipated that after careful calculation, additional tariffs may be imposed on specific countries. President Trump has specifically mentioned Korea, Japan, Canada, and India as countries imposing high tariffs.
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