Japan has asked to be exempted from the so-called reciprocal tariffs that US President Donald Trump plans to adopt this year as the Asian nation works to minimize any potential fallout.
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya sought the country’s exclusion from the tariffs when he met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the Munich Security Conference, according to a transcript of the meeting released on Saturday by Japan’s foreign ministry.
“I relayed my thoughts to Rubio that Japan should not be one of the countries subject to reciprocal tariffs,” Iwaya was quoted as saying.
Photo: Reuters
He also raised the issue of automobile tariffs and sought exclusion from the 25 percent tariff the US is to levy on imported steel and aluminum products.
The remarks followed Trump’s order to consider imposing reciprocal tariffs on numerous trading partners as soon as April, raising the prospect of a wider campaign against a global system he complains is tilted against the US. Trump has previously attacked Japan’s trade surplus with the US and yen weakness that feeds into that imbalance and recently singled out Japan, as well as South Korea, as nations that he believes are taking advantage of the US.
The Japanese government had begun communicating with Washington over tariff matters, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto told reporters on Friday.
The remark came as Trump said he would unveil new tariffs on automobiles.
“We are going to do that on around April 2,” Trump told reporters on Friday in the Oval Office, as he signed an executive order on energy policy.
The auto threat offers to put some of the biggest brands in Japan, Germany and South Korea in Trump’s crosshairs. Imports accounted for about half of the US auto market last year. About 80 percent of Volkswagen AG’s US sales are imported, while 65 percent of Hyundai-Kia’s US sales are imported, figures from market researcher Global Data showed.
Trump on Friday did not provide any details on the scope or rate of the potential auto levies. It is also unclear the effect they would have on vehicles built under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a free-trade agreement that Trump renegotiated during his first term. Auto production supply chains across North America are highly integrated.
The American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) — which represents Detroit automakers General Motors Co (GM), Ford Motor Co and Stellantis NV — has called for Trump to drop proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
“We support President Trump’s efforts to consider the entire global trade situation, including both tariff and non-tariff barriers,” AAPC president Matt Blunt said on Thursday in response to the announcement on reciprocal tariffs.
“In the meantime, Ford, GM, and Stellantis continue to believe that vehicles and auto parts that meet the USMCA requirements should not be subject to additional tariffs,” he said.
Additional reporting by AFP
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