Trump issues executive order reducing American customs duties on Japanese automobiles to 15%
In a significant development, the United States has agreed to lower tariffs on imports of Japanese automobiles and other products. According to a Japanese government source, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to implement this change.
The US tariff rate on Japanese cars is set to be reduced from 27.5% to 15%, though the exact effective date for this reduction is yet to be confirmed. The reduced tariffs on Japanese automobiles are expected to take effect seven days after the order's publication.
The tariff relief is not limited to automobiles. A variety of products, including agricultural goods, are also set to benefit from the reduced tariffs. Japan has agreed to purchase US agricultural goods, totalling US$8 billion per year, including corn, soybeans, fertilizer, and bioethanol.
However, the effective date for these product tariff reductions is not specified in the available information. The US-Japan agreement does not specify an exact date for the tariff reduction on products other than automobiles.
The US rice procurements by Japan are expected to increase by 75% as a result of this agreement. This could be a positive development for the US agricultural sector, which has been impacted by Trump's levies on global shipments, which kicked in August.
In contrast, Toyota, one of the major Japanese carmakers, had previously announced that it expects a nearly US$10 billion hit from Trump's tariffs on cars imported into the United States. The company has not yet provided new information about its expected financial impact from the tariff reductions.
The Japanese government declined to comment on the matter, leaving the details of the agreement open to speculation. The exact confirmed date when Trump signed the executive order to impose lower tariffs on Japanese automobile imports and other products is also not provided in the available search results.
This agreement is a step towards easing trade tensions between the two countries and could potentially boost economic growth in both the US and Japan. As more details about the agreement become available, we will keep you updated.
