Star Metro - Lower US tariffs on Japan autos to take effect Tuesday

Starting Tuesday, Japanese autos entering the United States will face a 15-percent tariff instead of 27.5 percent, providing manufacturers some reprieve from President Donald Trump's fresh duties this year.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has targeted specific sectors with tariffs, and imported automobiles and parts face a 25-percent duty.

This dealt a blow to Japanese automakers, for whom the 25-percent duty piled atop an existing 2.5-percent tariff -- bringing the overall level to 27.5 percent.

For goods falling outside specifically targeted sectors, Trump has also imposed a separate 10-percent duty on imports from nearly all trading partners since returning to the presidency.

In early August, he hiked the 10-percent 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-percent 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.

Japan's tariffs envoy Ryosei Akazawa previously told reporters that Washington was expected to revise the rule.

The new US order taking effect Tuesday will see a 15-percent tariff cap instead for many products, applying retroactively to August 7.

Under the terms of the US-Japan tariff deal, Japan is also expected to make investments worth $550 billion in the United States, according to the White House.

D.Ch. Nadeau--SMC