Japan looks forward to talks with Trump that include cutting auto tariffs

By Yoshiaki Nohara

  Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Tokyo intends to pick up trade talks with President-elect Donald Trump with an understanding that the elimination of tariffs on cars and auto parts will be on the agenda.  

The understanding was made five years ago during Trump’s first term, according to Iwaya, as the two nations struck a trade deal that gave US farmers greater access to the Japanese market while Tokyo was able to dodge extra tariffs on its auto exports to the US. 

 

“In the annex of the Japan-US Trade Agreement, the US side has included automobiles and automobile parts in the list of items for which further negotiations on tariff elimination will be held,” Iwaya said in parliament on Friday. “Negotiations will be held on the assumption that tariffs will be eliminated.”

 

His comments come as Tokyo, like other nations, scrambles to get its thinking and strategy together to deal with the likely ramifications of the protectionist trade policies of Trump. The president-elect has pledged to impose additional 10% to 20% tariffs on all goods from abroad including from Japan. 

 

The US was Japan’s biggest export destination in 2023 with cars and auto parts making up a third of shipments, according to Japan’s Finance Ministry.  

 

“The US is currently in a period of government transition,” Iwaya said. “We must gather information and analyze it carefully to see what approach the new administration will take on trade policy so that we can deal with it.”  

 

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has spoken for only about five minutes with Trump by phone following his election win, is trying to meet him soon. Ishiba had hoped to meet Trump on his way back from South America last month, but was told the Trump was not planning to meet world leaders before his inauguration on Jan. 20. 

 

Analysts say close personal ties between Trump and late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played a role in smoothing out trade and diplomatic relations between the two nations.