Bill Flory sends about a quarter of the wheat he grows in Idaho to Japan, a country so key to the fourth-generation farmer that he's visited there three times in five years.
Now he's worried. While Canada, Australia and the European Union have all recently secured new or adjusted trade deals with Japan, the U.S. has not. That could give rivals an edge on prices with a customer that regularly imports about $14 billion (¥1.55 trillion) a year in U.S. agriculture and farm-related products.
Flory, who supports President Donald Trump politically, said he believes the U.S. will eventually finalize a deal with Japan, but he's concerned about the interim. Meanwhile, the Trump administration instead appears laser focused on trade talks with China, risking the 50 percent market share now controlled by American wheat supplies in Japan.
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