Trade Trump's tariffs: Japan's car exports to the USA have slumped
Japanese car exports to the USA slumped in May due to the import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The value of cars and car parts delivered to the USA was 24.7 percent lower than in the same month last year.
18.06.2025, 09:17
SDA
This was announced by the Ministry of Finance in Tokyo on Wednesday. Experts blame this primarily on sharply lower prices on the Japanese side.
The volume of exports only fell by 3.4 percent, explained Taro Saito, chief economist at the NLI Research Institute. "It seems that carmakers are massively cutting their prices to absorb the additional cost of tariffs without losing their buyers in the US."
Japan, a key US ally, is subject to the same 10 percent base tariff that Trump has imposed on almost all countries. Cars are also subject to a 25 percent surcharge and steel and aluminum to a 50 percent surcharge. Trump has threatened to raise the general tariff rate to 24%.
Japan heavily dependent on exports
Japan is also heavily dependent on exports and the automotive industry accounted for 30 percent of exports to the USA last year. The automotive industry accounts for eight percent of all jobs in Japan.
According to official figures, exports to the USA fell by around eleven percent across all sectors in May. US imports fell by 13.5 percent.
Japan is negotiating a solution to the tariff dispute with the USA, but this has yet to materialize. Head of government Shigeru Ishiba met US President Trump this week at the G7 summit in Canada. "As there are still differences of opinion, we have not reached an agreement," he said afterwards.
