Washington: Lower US tariffs on Japanese autos are set to take effect this week, says a Commerce Department notice on Monday, as Washington implements a recent trade pact it had negotiated with Tokyo.
Since yesterday, Japanese autos entering the United States would face a 15% tariff instead of 27.5%, providing manufacturers some reprieve from President Donald Trump’s fresh duties this year.
After returning to the presidency in January, Trump has targeted specific sectors with tariffs, and imported cars and parts face a 25% duty.
This dealt a blow to Japanese automakers, for whom the 25% duty piled atop an existing 2.5% tariff – bringing the overall level to 27.5%. For goods falling outside specifically targeted sectors, Trump has also imposed a separate 10% duty on imports from nearly all trading partners since returning to the presidency.
In early August, he hiked the 10% rate to various higher levels for goods from dozens of economies, including the European Union and Japan. The move left Japanese products facing a 15% US tariff tacked onto existing duties for many goods.
While the two countries had initially unveiled a trade pact in July, they appeared to diverge in their understanding of its details, such as whether the duties would generally stack on existing tariffs for certain products. — AFP
