Donald Trump says he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reached a trade deal 'in principle' on Sunday at the annual Group of Seven summit.

The president claimed the agreement was favorable to U.S. farmers, because it Japan would be buying up excess corn that's rotting on the stalk now that a China trade accord is no longer imminent.

'This is a tremendous deal for the United States,' he told press while speaking alongside Abe in Biarritz, France, where this year's gathering is being held. 'It's really tremendous deal for our farmers.'

The potential deal would slash tariffs on U.S. beef, pork and other agricultural imports, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer claimed. He said during the announcement that Japan would be also buying a lot of wheat, wine, ethanol and dairy products from the United States.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he had reached a trade deal with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that would be 'tremendous' for U.S. farmers

He also said Japan agreed to make large corn and wheat purchases from the U.S.

Japan and the United States are two of the seven largest economies in the world, and the Asian nation is America's third largest trading partner after Canada and China.

Trump and Abe made a surprise announcement that they were close to reaching a trade deal on the second day of the G7. They seemed to have differing opinion on what close meant, with Trump claiming it was all but completed and Abe saying they'd reached a potential agreement.

'We're very far down the line. We've agreed to every point, and now we're papering it, and we'll be signing it at a formal ceremony,' the U.S president stated.

His timeline for completion was the United Nations General Assembly, which will be held at the end of September in at the multinational organization's headquarters in New York City.

'And one of the things that Prime Minister Abe has also agreed to is we have excess corn in various parts of our country, with our farmers, because China did not do what they said they were going to do,' he claimed. 'And Prime Minister Abe, on behalf of Japan, they're going to be buying all of that corn.

Trump claimed that Japan would be making a 'massive purchase of wheat also' and 'the very, very large order of corn will go quickly.'

'But importantly, it's something that wasn't in the agreement that we may not even -- we may do that as a supplementary agreement. But we appreciate that very much. We just agreed to that on the other idea of the door,' he stated.

Trump claimed on Twitter a little later, 'Big Trade Deal just agreed to with Prime Minister Abe of Japan. Will be great for our Farmers, Ranchers and more. Really big Corn purchase!'

Abe said the agricultural product purchases by private sector businesses were a 'possibility' but did not comment on any other alleged points of the framework.

At Trump's invitation to speak, he said, 'So with regard to the potential purchase of American corn, in Japan we are now experiencing inspect pest on some of the agricultural products. And there is a need for us to buy certain amount of agricultural products.

'And this will be done by the Japanese private sector. That means that Japanese corporations will need to buy additional agricultural products. And we believe that there is a need for us to implement emergency support measures for the Japanese private sector to have the early purchase of the American corn,' he explained.

Trump and Abe met for a bilateral meeting earlier in the day where they discussed a wide variety of issues

Abe reaffirmed that it would be up to Japanese businesses to decide who they purchase corn from, regardless of the step his government takes to lower barriers to buying from America.





'Of course, there is something that is already a shared understanding between -- by the Japanese public, Japanese private sector, as well. So that's why, against such backdrop, I do think that there is a possibility for us to cooperate to address this issue,' he said. 'And with regard to further details, I would like to continue discussing with you, Mr. President.'

Trump was not deterred. He claimed that the Japanese private sector follows the lead of the public sector, and he had no concerns at all.

One remaining sticking point was a tariff on Japanese cars that Trump's said he won't take off.

'They stay the same. They're staying the same,' he told a group of reporters.

The same day he reached the trade deal with the Asian nation, Trump admitted that he was having 'second thoughts' about escalating tariffs on Chinese products.

Press secretary Stephanie Grisham claimed in a statement that U.S. president meant that he wished he had hit China with stiffer penalties.

'President Trump responded in the affirmative - because he regrets not raising the tariffs higher,' Grisham said, playing clean-up.

During Trump and Abe's bilateral meeting earlier in the day Sunday, the two discussed a wide variety of issues, including North Korean missile testing.

The Washington ally challenged Trump on whether the authoritarian nation's actions violated the agreement.

'I'm not happy about it. But, again, he's not in violation of an agreement,' Trump said of North Korea testing short-range missiles.

Abe disagreed, claiming that Tokyo's 'position is very clear,' that the actions violated the agreement.

'[T]he launch of short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea clearly violates the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,' he said. 'So, in that sense, it was extremely regrettable for us to experience another round of the launch of the short-range ballistic missiles by North Korea in recent days.'