Japan’s Ishiba signals increasing corn imports as part of US trade talks

Published May 13, 2025

Tridge summary

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has suggested increasing corn imports from the U.S. as a potential option in trade negotiations, aiming to secure exemptions from U.S. tariffs, including a 25% tariff on automobiles. However, he made it clear that Japan will not compromise its agriculture industry to secure these tariff concessions. The U.S. and Japan have made limited progress in their trade talks, with the U.S. raising concerns over market barriers in the automobile and rice sectors. In response, Japan is considering proposing technical cooperation in shipbuilding to the U.S. as a means of advancing negotiations.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday signalled that increasing corn imports from the U.S. would be among options in trade negotiations with Washington, but warned Japan would never sacrifice its agriculture industry to win lower auto tariffs. Japan has made little headway in two rounds of trade talks with the U.S. as it seeks exemptions from U.S. tariffs, including a crippling 25% tariff on its mainstay automobiles. During the first round of talks last month, U.S. negotiators brought up automobiles and rice as areas where they said Tokyo puts up market barriers. Agreeing to buy more corn is a less controversial option for Japan than increasing rice imports, as Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) relies heavily on rice farmers’ support in elections. Speaking in parliament, Ishiba repeated that Japan won’t sacrifice the domestic agriculture industry for the sake of winning U.S. tariff concessions for automobiles. “Still, Japan can use corn not for ...

Source: UkrAgroConsult