Japan’s hopes of avoiding US taxes on imported cars have been thwarted.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated to Fox Business on Friday that “if you’re going to tax vehicles from everywhere, it’s got to be tariffing vehicles from outside.” That would be acceptable, do it? Don’t allow Japan to have an unfair advantages over Korea, Germany, or any other place.
The Japanese had been reminding themselves of the “promise” that Trump made to former prime minister Shinzo Abe that he would not impose more tariffs on Chinese automobiles and auto parts after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ostensibly productive meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in first February.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, who was quoted by The Nikkei as saying,” That’s also an important promises for us,” is one of the leading business newspapers in Japan.
Trump appears to be going to impose a 25 % tariff on Japanese automobiles in the early spring. That would affect Japan’s yearly exports worth about US$ 40 billion, which is roughly 30 % of its total US exports and about US$ 2 billion in trade surplus.
State data shows that Japan’s export to the US were 21.3 trillion yen last year ( US$ 42 billion ), while US imports were 12.5 trillion yen ($ 83 billion ).
Japan has a huge trade surplus with the US for automobiles only. Japan imported just about 20, 000 American cars in 2024, compared to the 1.3 million passenger vehicles that were exported there in 2024. The Americans like to attribute this gap to what they call “non-tariff restrictions” because Japan does not establish a price on imported cars. Among these are:
- Special car standards
- Excessively time-consuming and intricate safety inspections
- Chinese government favoritism, including unfair financial incentives
- Shut distribution channel  ,
The scenario looks different for me as a long-term tenant who has driven hundreds of thousands of meters around Japan since the 1980s. In Japan, I may never purchase or even lease an American vehicles. Why?
- National automobiles are generally too large for country roads and backstreets in Japan.
- The steering wheel of the majority of American vehicles sold in Japan is on the wrong side ( Jeep is an exception ). The Chinese pull on the left side of the road, just like the English. On Chinese cars, the steering vehicle is located to the right.
- Generally speaking, bad fuel mileage.
- Lack of easily obtainable spare parts when a vehicle breaks down.
In terms of the market and governmental culture:
- To ensure security, vehicles in Japan must be inspected annually. Is that a poor plan?
- A good economic and environmental coverage results in lower gas consumption thanks to financial opportunities for mini-vehicles.
- Asian automakers have their own vendor networks, which is a characteristic of British automakers, which they have failed to adapt to.
- German automobiles are more fashionable in the eyes of the Chinese. The Chinese purchase about ten days as many American vehicles as Western ones.
That does not make National automobiles disparage any one. In Japan, Van is a well-known company. White Cadillacs were a Yakuza preferred long ago, but they are no longer available. Hummer pertains to a certain set of masculine people.
But, imported vehicles from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Audi are most frequently seen on Chinese routes. The best-selling design is the BMW Mini. Viewers exist for Volvo and Citroen. Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini are among the well-heeled group’s purchases.
However, taxes on imported autos from Japan, Mexico, and Canada may ease this concern because the Trump presidency is more focused on boosting the number of manufacturing work in America than reforming the Japanese automobile business.
Toyota’s manufacturers imported about 1.3 million from Japan and sourced the rest of the time in Mexico and Canada, selling about 5.9 million automobiles in the US and producing 3.3 million there in 2024.
Honda is now shifting some output from Mexico and Canada to the US, despite the fact that it only exports a small number of vehicles from Japan. In Mexico and Canada, Honda gathers approximately 40 % of the vehicles it sells in the US.
Toyota’s imports from Japan are included in the figure, which is about 45 %. About 70 % of Mazda’s US cars are shipped from Mexico and Japan. Manufacturing in the US can be increased by Mazda and Toyota both. Nissan, which is struggling, is slamming creation in the US and other countries.
Whatever the final numbers turn out to be, Trump may be using the risk of high tariffs on imported cars as a negotiating strategy. Whatever the outcome, the Japanese had come up with a new strategy to keep their local auto industry upright while safeguarding their investments in Mexico and Canada.
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