To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
This is an outrageous move that will destroy the free trade system that has been the driving force behind the development of the global economy since the end of World War II.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s high-tariff policy, which focuses solely on his own country’s interests, is completely unacceptable. Japan must work with the European Union and other countries and regions to strongly demand the United States withdraw the policy.
Major change in postwar policy
On April 2, Trump announced the details of “reciprocal tariffs,” the most comprehensive high-tariff policy of his second term.
In addition to imposing a blanket 10% tariff on each country, he will add a tariff rate on each of the about 60 countries and regions he has identified as the “worst offenders” in trade relations.
Total tariff rates for various countries and regions include 24% for Japan, 20% for the EU and 46% for Vietnam. The United States has already imposed an additional 20% tariff on China, and will add on another 34%.
The blanket 10% tariff will take effect on April 5 and the additional amount on April 9. Separately, a 25% tariff was imposed on automobiles starting April 3.
Since the end of World War II, the United States has led the free trade system, taking the initiative by lowering tariffs to help develop the global economy and also playing a role in having democracy take root.
This is an astonishing situation in which Washington will significantly overturn that policy.
In 1930, under the influence of the Great Depression, the United States enforced the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and steered a course toward protectionism. It is noted that this caused a contraction of trade and the formation of blocs in the world economy, which became one of the factors that led to World War II.
The United States and other major countries promoted a free trade system after the war apparently because they reflected on this.
Serious blow to global economy
A trade war resulting from a chain of retaliatory measures would deal a significant blow to the global economy. A major disruption to interconnected supply chains would also be inevitable.
The Japanese government needs to point out problems and clearly convey its intention that the reciprocal tariffs are unjustified measures and are unacceptable. It should work with the EU and other countries and regions to figure out countermeasures, through such means as filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
It must be said that Trump’s awareness is distorted. In his address, Trump said, “For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” through unfair trade policies. He called April 2 “Liberation Day” for the United States, saying that the day would “forever be remembered.”
However, the United States, which is the most post-industrial society among major advanced countries, is a successful example of the international division of labor, as it boasts high competitiveness in the information technology and finance sectors while its people are leading affluent lives on cheap imports.
While its trade deficit in 2024 was the largest in history at over $1.2 trillion (about ¥180 trillion), the United States boasts economic powers that are said to make it the world’s lone superpower. It is also one of the countries that are benefiting the most from free trade.
The high-tariff policy will only reignite inflation and hurt the American people. It is unlikely that factories will return to the United States, where production costs are high. There likely will be increased risk of falling into stagflation, in which economic recession and price increases continue.
In addition, it is difficult to understand Trump’s foundation on which he imposed reciprocal tariffs.
Trump reportedly judged, based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, that the hollowing out of the manufacturing sector and the persistent huge trade deficit were a threat to national security.
However, aside from China, the products consumed in the United States are produced by many allies and friendly nations, including Japan, and the security threat should be low.
The calculation method of the additional tariff rates also is too arbitrary.
The U.S. government has pointed to Japanese automobile safety standards and others as nontariff barriers. It argues that, as the nontariff barriers are equivalent to the 46% tariff imposed by Japan on the United States, the 24% additional tariff imposed on Japan is a generous measure.
Japan must also quickly respond. Simply asking the United States to reconsider its position is not enough to reverse the situation. Japan itself needs to take the initiative and work to strengthen its position in trade relations.
Squarely face Trump
The Japan-U.S. alliance is especially vital not only for security, but also in the economic field. At the same time, it is important for Japan to develop its own new technologies and work to develop markets outside the United States, such as India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which have great potential for growth.
Japan should urge the United States to modify the high-tariff policy, while reducing its dependence on the U.S. market.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership is also being tested. Despite meeting with Trump in February, Ishiba could not do anything regarding the decision on reciprocal tariffs, following the imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum products and automobiles.
Japan should play a central role in building a cooperative framework among countries and regions to protect free trade. If Japan is hesitant to squarely face Trump, it will never be able to fulfill this important responsibility.
