TOKYO: Shares in Japan’s biggest car companies fell on Thursday (Mar 27) after US President Donald Trump announced a 25 per cent tariff on auto imports to take effect next week.
The world’s top-selling automaker Toyota dropped 3.7 per cent as the Tokyo market opened, while Nissan shed 3.2 per cent and Honda fell as much as 3.1 per cent.
Mitsubishi Motors was down 3.7 per cent, and in South Korea, Hyundai shares dipped 3.4 per cent.
The auto industry is a huge pillar of the Japanese economy, with about 10 per cent of jobs there connected to the sector.
Vehicles accounted for roughly a third of Japan’s 21.3 trillion yen (US$142 billion) of US-bound exports in 2024.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that Tokyo will put “all options on the table” in dealing with Washington’s announcement.
“Japan is making significant amounts of investment to the United States. It’s also creating jobs,” Ishiba told parliament.
“Japan is a country that is making the largest amount of investment to the United States, so we wonder if it makes sense for (Washington) to apply uniform tariffs to all countries. That is a point we’ve been making and will continue to do so,” he said.
Earlier in March, the chair of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) warned of the impact of US trade protectionism at a Tokyo press conference.
A 25 per cent tariff “would have a negative impact overall on the economies of the United States and Japan”, Masanori Katayama said.
Japanese ministers have been lobbying their US counterparts to secure tariff exemptions for goods like steel and vehicles, but these requests have been denied.
The Trump administration says levies are a way to raise government revenue, revitalise American industry and press countries on US priorities.
But targeting imported cars could strain ties with close US partners.
About 50 per cent of cars sold in the United States are manufactured within the country. Among imports, about half come from Mexico and Canada, with Japan, South Korea and Germany also major suppliers.
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