The U.S. just announced a 15% tariff hike on Japanese imports. This comes two weeks after Trump declared a “massive” trade agreement with Japan on July 22, calling it “maybe the largest deal in history.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/22/trump-trade-deal-japan-tariff-imports/85331747007/
The July 23 agreement was supposed to lock in a 15% baseline tariff and prevent a threatened 25% hike. But now the White House says Japan “failed to meet implementation benchmarks,” triggering the increase. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/07/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-secures-unprecedented-u-s-japan-strategic-trade-and-investment-agreement/
The market rallied hard off the July 22 announcement. Auto stocks surged. Nikkei jumped 2%. But the tariff reversal exposes the rally as built on soft ground. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/23/trump-announces-massive-trade-deal-with-japan-with-15percent-tariffs.html
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised May and June job growth down by 258,000. Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of “faking the numbers before the election.” https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-calls-fired-bls-commissioners-job-numbers-biggest-miscalculations-over-50-years
The entire rally is built on Taco lies and fake BLS numbers. Tariffs up. Jobs down. Trust gone.
No source confirms Japan violated the deal. No benchmarks were published. No enforcement terms disclosed. The tariff hike looks like a bluff called. The market won’t hold up here. Not with fake data and broken deals.