Japan's chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, has made it clear that the United States' proposed 25% tariff on automobiles is unacceptable to Japan. Speaking to reporters ahead of the seventh round of trade talks with the U.S. in Washington on Thursday, Akazawa expressed strong opposition to the tariff.
He emphasized that Japanese automakers have a significant production footprint in the U.S., manufacturing around 3.3 million vehicles annually within the country. This figure far exceeds the 1.37 million vehicles Japan exports to the U.S., highlighting the deep integration of Japanese auto firms in the American market.
Akazawa also pointed out the substantial contributions Japanese car companies make to the U.S. economy. Their cumulative investments in the U.S. have exceeded $60 billion, and they support approximately 2.3 million jobs across the country. Given these contributions, Japan believes that imposing such a steep tariff would negatively impact not only both nations' auto industries but also the broader economic relationship between Japan and the United States.
