US tariffs on auto imports will have ‘extremely large’ impact on Japan, warns Premier Ishiba

ISTANBUL

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned Friday that the US government's plan to impose 25% tariffs on auto imports will have an "extremely large impact" on the Japanese economy.

"We will think about the most effective means to make the United States understand that this will not be of benefit to it," he told a parliamentary committee.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to impose 25% tariffs on imports of foreign-made cars and light trucks, part of his broader strategy to increase trade taxes on foreign goods.

The tariffs will go into effect on April 2, when Trump is expected to enact reciprocal tariffs on countries worldwide in a bid to pressure them into lowering their import duties or face similar penalties on their exports. Collection of the tariffs will begin the following day.

Trump's 25% tariffs will be added on top of any existing tariffs on car imports.

The Japanese government called on the US government for an exemption from the tariffs on Thursday, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi referring to Trump’s new tariffs as "extremely regrettable.”