Trump unlikely to reset US tariffs on Japanese cars
Tariffs on Japanese vehicles that have been raised by US President Donald Trump are unlikely to return to the level before the launch in January this year of his second administration, even after negotiations, an economist has said.
The administration will not easily agree to lowering the tariffs, considering the size of the US deficit in vehicle trade with Japan, Stefan Angrick, senior economist at Moody's Analytics in Tokyo, said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.
The United States is the largest export destination for Japan, with vehicles accounting for about 30 % of Japan's total exports to the country. The US administration started applying an additional 25 % tariff on imported vehicles in April.
As the US government agreed to lower its tariffs on British vehicles earlier this month, Angrick predicts that the Trump administration may lower vehicle tariffs for other countries as well.
The economist said that although the levy on Japanese vehicles may be cut to some 10 %, there is no chance that the tariffs will go back to 2.5 %, the level before they were raised by the Trump administration, as the president prioritises a reshoring of the manufacturing industry.
On the Japanese government's request to review a series of tariff measures, Angrick said that the negotiations might be prolonged because of the gap between the governments of the two countries.
While saying that the Trump administration is unlikely to fully implement its 24 % reciprocal tariff against Japan, including an add-on part that is on pause, as that might lead to inflation and burdens on U.S. firms, Angrick predicted that the president is likely to keep a base reciprocal tariff of 10 %.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
