Nearly three years have passed since the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but US President Trump still misses this "good friend", especially when talking about trade issues.
On April 2nd local time, Trump signed two executive orders on so - called "reciprocal tariffs" at the White House, announcing that the US will set a 10% "minimum baseline tariff" on its trading partners and impose higher tariffs on some trading partners. Among them, Japan will be subject to a 24% "reciprocal tariff".
On the 2nd, Trump met with the media in the White House Rose Garden. When talking about Japan, he suddenly paid tribute to Abe. "The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, was an amazing man. Unfortunately, he left us - assassinated."
"I went to him and said, 'Shinzo Abe, we have to do something. The trade (between the US and Japan) is unfair.' He said, 'I know, I know.'" Trump recalled and praised, "He was a great gentleman and an amazing man. He immediately understood what I was talking about."
This is not the first time Trump has recalled his discussions on trade issues with Abe. In October last year, when Trump was interviewed by Bloomberg's editor Micklethwait at the Chicago Economic Club, he mentioned a conversation with Abe.
"I said, Shinzo Abe, you have to pay for your cars. You send millions of cars here, but you don't accept our cars, not a single one. And we sell three or four million of your (Japanese) cars... You don't even accept our agricultural (products)." Trump said. He also said that the US was "trapped" by a bad agreement, so the whole trade agreement was renegotiated.
On September 26, 2018 local time, in New York, the US, Trump held a bilateral meeting with Shinzo Abe.
According to Japan's Kyodo News, in his speech on April 2nd, Trump accused Japan of imposing a 700% tariff on US rice. He also said that "94% of the cars sold in Japan are made in Japan", "Toyota sold one million foreign - made cars in the US, while General Motors and Ford have very few sales in Japan. No US company is allowed to expand into other countries."
"This terrible imbalance is destroying our country's industrial base and endangering our national security," Trump said.
The Japan Times said that the 24% tariff rate imposed by the US on Japan far exceeded market expectations. "This is the worst - case scenario one can imagine," wrote economist Toei Kiuchi of Nomura Research Institute in a report on the 3rd. He estimated that the 24% "reciprocal tariff" could reduce Japan's GDP by 0.59%.
After the US announced the new tariff measures, the Nikkei 225 index opened nearly 4% lower on Thursday, hitting an eight - month low.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Kono said on the 3rd at the official residence when answering media questions that he was "extremely disappointed" about the US imposing "reciprocal tariffs".
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said, "We once again told the US government that this action is extremely regrettable and strongly demand that it re - examine its measures." Hayashi said that Japan is examining whether the US tariff measures violate World Trade Organization rules and the Japan - US trade agreement signed in 2019.
Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yoji Muto revealed on the 3rd that he had an online meeting with US Commerce Secretary Rutnick and again requested that Japan be excluded from the scope of the US tariff increase. Muto also said that retaliatory measures are also being considered, but the government needs to act carefully to determine the best course of action.
Regarding Trump's claim that Japan imposes a 700% tariff on US rice, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Taku Eto said in an interview with the media on the 3rd, "Even if calculated logically, such a figure cannot be obtained. It's hard to understand."
According to a White House announcement, the 10% tariff increase on all trading partners will take effect on the 5th, and the higher "reciprocal tariff" will take effect on the 9th.
It is worth mentioning that on April 3rd local time, the 25% tariff on imported cars previously announced by Trump has officially taken effect. Products that have already faced steel, aluminum and car tariffs will not be subject to the "reciprocal tariff".
Previously, the Nikkei Chinese Net pointed out that the largest category of Japanese exports to the US is cars. In 2024, Japan's auto exports to the US exceeded 6 trillion yen, accounting for nearly 30% of Japan's total exports to the US. Taro Kono recently said that the US auto tariff has a "very serious" impact on the Japanese economy.
