Japanese trade official says U.S. auto tariffs are ‘not something we can accept’

Japan’s leading trade negotiator said Thursday that President Trump’s 25% tariff on foreign-made cars is unacceptable, aggressively laying down a marker ahead of a round of U.S.-Japan trade talks in Washington.

Ryosei Akazawa, who oversees economic and fiscal policy, told reporters at the Tokyo airport that auto tariffs are “not something we can accept,” according to Kyodo News.

Mr. Akazawa said Japanese automakers produce about 3.3 million vehicles annually in the U.S., more than double the 1.37 million cars they export to the U.S.

He said those investments generate American money and jobs, so he hopes the Trump administration will reconsider the levies as part of broader trade talks between the major economies.

“We have repeatedly explained to the U.S. that Japan’s automobile industry has made an enormous contribution to the U.S. economy, and we intend to keep explaining this clearly and seek understanding,” Mr. Akazawa said. “In any case, we consider the 25% automobile tariff to be unacceptable.”

Tariffs are taxes or duties that importers pay on goods from foreign markets.

Mr. Trump said tariffs would force companies to return to America or keep their operations in the U.S., employ American workers and create revenue to fund domestic programs.

Foreign countries don’t pay the tariffs directly to the U.S. Treasury. In many cases, U.S. companies will pay the levies, and they might pass along at least some of the cost to consumers through higher prices.

In late March, Mr. Trump imposed a 25% tariff on autos and auto parts, saying too many countries were exporting cars into the U.S. while refusing to accept American cars within their markets.

The president has been clear: Make your cars in the U.S. so you won’t have to pay tariffs.

Tariffs are a key sticking point for Japan, whose economy relies on car exports from popular brands such as Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi.

Mr. Akazawa is meeting with U.S. negotiators before a July 8 deadline for countries to strike trade deals or face the reimposition of “Liberation Day” tariffs that Mr. Trump announced in early April. Mr. Trump paused the tariffs for 90 days to allow time for negotiations.

Mr. Trump is threatening Japan with a 24% general tariff, but negotiations could change that, or the White House could grant a longer reprieve.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was unable to strike a trade deal or get tariff commitments from Mr. Trump during the Group of Seven summit this month in Canada.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the July 8 deadline for tariff negotiations could be extended, “but that’s a decision for the president to make.”

“The deadline is not critical. The president can simply provide these countries with a deal if they refuse to make us one by the deadline,” she said. “That means the president can pick a reciprocal tariff rate that he believes is advantageous for the United States and for the American worker.”

Ms. Leavitt said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is “working very hard, and he has had very good and productive discussions with many of our key trading partners.”

Mr. Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff levels were based mainly on trade deficits, in which countries sell plenty of products to the American market but don’t buy nearly as much from U.S. producers.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the trade deficit with Japan was $68.5 billion in 2024.

The U.S. Court of International Trade recently held that Mr. Trump overstepped his authority with sweeping tariffs on other nations, but an appeals court paused the implementation of that ruling.