By AFP
April 4, 2025
Japan's main Nikkei 225 index fell more than three percent on Friday, adding to a 2.7-percent drop on Thursday after the S&P 500 on Wall Street dropped by the most in a day since 2020 - Copyright AFP Kazuhiro NOGI
Kyoko HASEGAWA
US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Japanese goods are a “national crisis”, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Friday ahead of cross-party talks on mitigating the impact.
Japanese firms are the biggest investors into the United States but Trump on Thursday announced a hefty 24-percent levy on imports from the close US ally as part of global “reciprocal” levies.
The measures “can be called a national crisis and the government is doing its best with all parties” to lessen the impact, Ishiba said in parliament.
He called however for a “calm-headed” approach to negotiations with Trump’s administration, which has also imposed 25-percent tariffs on auto imports which came into force this week.
Bank of Japan governor Kazuo Ueda said meanwhile that tariffs “can be a factor in downward pressure on the global and national economies”.
Ishiba on Thursday told his ministers “to study closely” the tariffs and “to take all measures necessary including financing support” for domestic industries and protecting jobs, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
Ishiba’s meetings with party leaders later Friday were aimed at laying the groundwork for the supplementary budget bill, as his minority government needs opposition support to pass it in parliament, the Asahi Shimbun daily reported.
On Friday, Hayashi repeated that Trump’s sweeping new tariffs are “extremely regrettable” and that Japan has “serious concerns” about whether they comply with World Trade Organization rules and US-Japan trade agreements.
Japan’s main Nikkei 225 index fell more than three percent on Friday, adding to a 2.7-percent drop on Thursday after the S&P 500 on Wall Street dropped by the most in a day since 2020.
– ‘Extremely grave’ –
Major Japanese business lobby the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) said Trump’s tariffs “would have an extremely grave impact on the Japanese economy”.
“We strongly urge the government to continue its persistent negotiations for the exemption from tariff measures and to take all possible measures to minimise the impact on small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses… by developing a detailed consultation system and strengthening cash management support,” the JCCI said Thursday.
The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) also called for government assistance for its members, which make up an important pillar of the world’s fourth-biggest economy.
The industry has “consistently called for fundamental reform to simplify and ease the burden of automobile-related taxation, (and) we kindly request comprehensive support measures to ensure that Japan’s automotive industry can maintain its foundation as a manufacturing base, through the revitalization of the domestic market”, it said.
JAMA said its members have invested a cumulative total of more than $66 billion in US manufacturing as of 2024, generating over 110,000 direct US jobs and supporting more than 2.2 million others.
“We have long believed that becoming an integral part of the US auto industry — through local investment and job creation — is the most sustainable path forward for the auto industries of both countries,” it said.
Japanese carmakers ship about 1.45 million cars to the United States from Canada and Mexico, where they operate factories, Bloomberg News reported.
By comparison, Japan exports 1.49 million cars directly to the United States, while Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in America.
In Japan, the auto sector is a key industry, employing about 5.6 million people directly or indirectly.
Vehicles accounted for around 28 percent of Japan’s 21.3 trillion yen ($142 billion) of US-bound exports last year.
Japan says US tariffs ‘extremely regrettable’, may break WTO rules
By AFP
April 3, 2025
Unlike in Trump's first term, Japan has failed to win exemptions on tariffs on imports into the United States - Copyright AFP/File TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
Hiroshi HIYAMA, Kyoko HASEGAWA
Japan slammed Thursday as “extremely regrettable” US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, saying they may break WTO rules and the two countries’ trade agreement.
Japanese firms are the biggest investors into the United States but Tokyo has failed to secure an exemption, with Trump announcing a hefty 24-percent levy on Japanese imports.
“I have conveyed that the unilateral tariff measures taken by the United States are extremely regrettable, and I have again strongly urged (Washington) not to apply them to Japan,” Yoji Muto, trade and industry minister, told reporters.
He said he spoke to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump’s announcement of a new 10-percent baseline tariff and extra levies on selected countries — including close strategic ally Japan.
“Japan (are) very very tough. Great people…. They would charge us 46 percent, and much higher for certain items,” Trump said. “We are charging them 24 percent.”
Muto said he had explained to Lutnick “how the US tariffs would adversely affect the US economy by undermining the capacity of Japanese companies to invest”.
“We had a frank discussion on how to pursue cooperation in the interest of both Japan and the United States that does not rely on tariffs,” Muto said.
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi also said that the US measures may contravene World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and the two countries’ trade treaty.
“We have serious concerns as to consistency with the WTO agreement and Japan-US trade agreement,” he told reporters.
Asked if Japan will impose retaliatory tariffs or is considering filing a suit to the WTO, Hayashi said: “We decline to disclose details of our considerations.”
– Abe exception –
In Trump’s first term, then prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had warm relations with Trump, managed to secure an exemption from tariffs.
In February, Trump hosted Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for apparently friendly and fruitful talks, hailing a “new golden age for US-Japan relations”.
Ishiba promised a trillion dollars in investments and to import what Trump called “record” imports of US natural gas.
Japan, together with South Korea, would also partner on a “gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska”, Trump said.
Japan has also failed to win exclusion from 25-percent tariffs on imports into the United States by its massive auto sector that came into force on Thursday.
Last year, vehicles accounted for around 28 percent of Japan’s 21.3 trillion yen ($142 billion) of US-bound exports, and roughly eight percent of all Japanese jobs are tied to the sector.
Japanese carmakers ship about 1.45 million cars to the United States from Canada and Mexico, where they operate factories, Bloomberg News reported.
By comparison Japan exports 1.49 million cars directly to the United States, while Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in America.
By AFP
April 3, 2025
Unlike in Trump's first term, Japan has failed to win exemptions on tariffs on imports into the United States - Copyright AFP/File TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA
Hiroshi HIYAMA, Kyoko HASEGAWA
Japan slammed Thursday as “extremely regrettable” US President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs, saying they may break WTO rules and the two countries’ trade agreement.
Japanese firms are the biggest investors into the United States but Tokyo has failed to secure an exemption, with Trump announcing a hefty 24-percent levy on Japanese imports.
“I have conveyed that the unilateral tariff measures taken by the United States are extremely regrettable, and I have again strongly urged (Washington) not to apply them to Japan,” Yoji Muto, trade and industry minister, told reporters.
He said he spoke to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump’s announcement of a new 10-percent baseline tariff and extra levies on selected countries — including close strategic ally Japan.
“Japan (are) very very tough. Great people…. They would charge us 46 percent, and much higher for certain items,” Trump said. “We are charging them 24 percent.”
Muto said he had explained to Lutnick “how the US tariffs would adversely affect the US economy by undermining the capacity of Japanese companies to invest”.
“We had a frank discussion on how to pursue cooperation in the interest of both Japan and the United States that does not rely on tariffs,” Muto said.
Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi also said that the US measures may contravene World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and the two countries’ trade treaty.
“We have serious concerns as to consistency with the WTO agreement and Japan-US trade agreement,” he told reporters.
Asked if Japan will impose retaliatory tariffs or is considering filing a suit to the WTO, Hayashi said: “We decline to disclose details of our considerations.”
– Abe exception –
In Trump’s first term, then prime minister Shinzo Abe, who had warm relations with Trump, managed to secure an exemption from tariffs.
In February, Trump hosted Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for apparently friendly and fruitful talks, hailing a “new golden age for US-Japan relations”.
Ishiba promised a trillion dollars in investments and to import what Trump called “record” imports of US natural gas.
Japan, together with South Korea, would also partner on a “gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska”, Trump said.
Japan has also failed to win exclusion from 25-percent tariffs on imports into the United States by its massive auto sector that came into force on Thursday.
Last year, vehicles accounted for around 28 percent of Japan’s 21.3 trillion yen ($142 billion) of US-bound exports, and roughly eight percent of all Japanese jobs are tied to the sector.
Japanese carmakers ship about 1.45 million cars to the United States from Canada and Mexico, where they operate factories, Bloomberg News reported.
By comparison Japan exports 1.49 million cars directly to the United States, while Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in America.
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