The tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Japan remain a hot topic, and the Tokyo government has now announced that Japan’s chief trade negotiator is set to travel to the United States this Tuesday, with the aim of urging Washington to proceed with the reduction of tariffs on automobiles, as promised in the trade agreement signed last month.
Ryosei Akazawa’s trip to Washington will be his first since the announcement of the trade agreement. The agreement, reached in June, resulted in a promise from the U.S. to evaluate a 15% tariff on most imports of Japanese products.
Furthermore, the agreement allowed Japan to avoid the worst-case scenario of a 25% tariff, as previously threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, but the tariffs have still increased compared to the 10% rate imposed by the U.S. on imports of Japanese products in recent months.
The new rate will come into effect on August 7, and tariffs on automobiles are expected to decrease, but it is still unclear when this reduction will begin.
With automobile tariffs currently at 27.5%, which includes a new 25% rate this year and a previous 2.5% rate, the impact on the Japanese economy is expected to be significant.
It is worth noting that the automotive sector is the largest component of Japan’s exports to the U.S.
