According to foreign media reports, recently, US President Trump said that the automobile trade between Japan and the United States is “unfair” and is considering retaining the 25% tariff on Japanese cars, which is at a critical stage in the US-Japan trade negotiations, with only more than a week left before the negotiation deadline.
Trump said in a Fox News interview, “We don’t export cars to Japan, and they don’t buy our cars, but we import millions of cars from Japan every year, which is unfair.” Today, the United States has plenty of oilCapacityJapan can improve the imbalance of bilateral automobile trade by expanding trade measures such as energy procurement. ”
Image source: Toyota Motor
In the interview, Trump did not send a signal that the United States and Japan were close to reaching an agreement or that Japan would receive tariff extensions, but emphasized that the United States could unilaterally set trade terms with Japan.
Trump mentioned in the interview that he plans to inform certain trading partners that the United States will unilaterally set tariffs, saying, “I am going to send a letter to notify that I can also send a letter to Japan, which says: ‘Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the thing – your cars sold to the United States will be subject to a 25% tariff.'” ’”
Trump’s remarks show that the United States and Japan are still far from reaching an agreement, and also highlight the risk that Trump may insist on imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars. The interview comes after Japan’s top trade negotiator, Yoshimasa Akazawa, held another round of negotiations with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick. Ryo Akazawa flew to Washington for face-to-face talks, and the next two rounds of discussions will be conducted by phone.
After the Trump talk show was broadcast, Ryo Akazawa posted on the social media platform X to reiterate that the US-Japan negotiations are still ongoing, saying, “The US-Japan negotiations are at a critical stage, and we will continue to maintain a sincere and pragmatic attitude in negotiations.” Akazawa added that after Trump’s interview, the two sides had agreed to continue negotiations this week.
Affected by the news, automobile-related stocks in the Tokyo Topix Index fell about 0.4% in the early afternoon of June 30, contrasting with the 0.8% increase in the broader market index.
Auto tariffs have become a key point of disagreement in the U.S.-Japan negotiations: the U.S. is focusing on a huge trade deficit in this area, while Japan is trying to protect automobile manufacturing, a pillar of the economy.
In 2024, Japan’s trade surplus with the United States will reach 8.6 trillion yen (about $59.3 billion), of which about 82% will come from the automobile and parts surplus. U.S. data shows that the trade deficit with Japan is the seventh largest deficit with a single trading partner.
Ryomasa Akazawa has repeatedly said that U.S. car tariffs are unacceptable. He pointed out that the Japanese auto industry has invested more than $60 billion in the United States, creating 2.3 million local jobs and making significant contributions to the economic development of the United States.
