TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Thursday U.S. President Donald Trump’s views on some tariff-related issues may be based on misunderstanding or misinformation, as a pause on a 24% reciprocal tariff on imports from Japan expires next week.

“We hear President Trump say no U.S. cars are running in Japan and that we are not importing (U.S.) rice. That could be based on misunderstanding or misinformation,” Ishiba said on public broadcaster NHK’s news programme. Japan has in fact imported historically high volumes of U.S. rice in recent months as domestically grown rice has skyrocketed in price since last year, hurting consumers.

Ishiba said, however, tariff negotiations with the United States are making steady progress, without going into specifics.

REUTERS