Trade deal: More Japan cars to US?

Trump’s 15% tariff angers US Big Three

- NEAL E. BOUDETTE

The new trade agreement between Japan and the Trump administration could give cars made in that country an advantage over vehicles that come from Canada and Mexico.

President Donald Trump's agreement with Japan, which was announced Tuesday, will impose a 15% tariff on cars, which is considerably lower than the 25% tax he placed on all imported vehicles in April.

On Wednesday, a group representing three of the largest US automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor and Stellantis — said the deal could set those companies back. Those three automakers collectively make more than 2 million cars and trucks in Canada and Mexico, many of them with American-made engines, transmissions and other parts. Those vehicles will still be subject to 25% tariffs.

The three companies worry that Trump’s agreement with Japan will give automakers like Toyota Motor and Honda a big leg up unless the administration reaches similar deals with Canada and Mexico.

“American automakers still need to review the details of the US-Japan agreement, but any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than it does North American-built vehicles with high US content is a bad deal for the US industry and US autoworkers,’ Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said in a statement. The council represents GM, Ford and Stellantis.