Japan’s Trade Ministry sent a document to the US Department of Commerce recently warning that higher US tariffs on auto imports could dramatically increase prices on US consumers and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of American jobs created by Japanese auto-related companies. Additionally, the reported noted that the net effect could devastate the US and global economies.
The report states that Japanese automakers have invested $48 billion dollars in US plants over the past several decades and employ tens of thousands of workers directly while creating over 1.5 million jobs across the US with domestic production of about 3.8 million vehicles.
The report stated that US automakers would lose competitiveness and export markets would shrink if auto tariffs are enacted, affecting US auto-related industries in and outside the country, and "eventually would undermine the entire US economy."
Citing a study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Japanese report said up to 624,000 people could lose their jobs in the US directly from tariffs and retaliatory measures by other countries. It also highlighted the compliance issue with the WTO agreement.
Already affected by increased US steel and aluminum tariffs, Japan has informed the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it may levy retaliatory tariffs on US goods totaling about 50 billion yen ($450 million) annually.