Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Friday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on imported cars and parts was “difficult to understand.”
The tariffs come as a major blow to Japan, one of Washington’s closest economic and strategic allies, after weeks of friendly talks between Ishiba and Trump. Shares of Japanese auto companies fell for a second day on Friday. “What President Trump is saying is that there are both friends and enemies, and friends can be more difficult. It’s very difficult to understand,” Ishiba said during a legislative committee hearing.
“America’s trading partners are taking our jobs, taking our assets, taking a lot of things,” Trump said at the White House, announcing the new auto tax. “They’ve taken a lot from our country, both friend and foe. And in fact, the friend has done worse.” These steps have raised concerns among America’s allies.
Canada has reacted sharply to Trump’s tariffs that could devastate the country’s auto industry, with Prime Minister Mark Carney declaring the era of deep bilateral ties “over.” “The impact on the Japanese economy will be extremely significant. There is no point in making a big fuss about it. We will explain it to Washington logically,” Ishiba warned for Japan. “The main thing is that there is no particular benefit to the United States from imposing such high tariffs on Japan.”
10 percent of jobs in Japan are linked to the auto industry. Prime Minister Ishiba said on Thursday that Japan was reviewing an “appropriate” response to the tariffs. “We believe that the current measures and other broad trade restrictions by the US government could have a significant impact on economic relations between Japan and the United States, as well as on the global economy and the multilateral trading system,” government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
Trump’s move has worried investors who are already vulnerable to tariffs on steel and aluminum. Toyota fell 4.76 percent, Honda 4.77 percent and Nissan 2.97 percent in afternoon trading, a continuation of Thursday’s big declines. Top trade officials from South Korea, Japan and China are set to meet in Seoul on Sunday to discuss economic cooperation, according to a government source.
