Toyota Motor said it hopes for improved ties between the US and Japan, going as far as to call for further tariff reductions a day after President Donald Trump announced a much-awaited trade pact with the island nation.
“Toyota hopes the environment surrounding the automotive industries of both Japan and the US continues to improve, including further reductions in tariffs, based on fair and open trade,” the world’s biggest automaker said in a statement Thursday.
Toyota, which churned out around 10.6 million vehicles globally last year, praised negotiators on both sides, adding in its statement that it appreciates the inclusion of the automotive sector.
It had been bracing for a ¥180 billion ($1.2 billion) hit from the 25% tariff on cars and car parts imported to the US.
That rate was lowered to 15% in the deal Trump announced on Wednesday.
Toyota’s shares rose as much as 16.4% Wednesday, the most since 1987 on an intraday basis.
They closed on Thursday down 0.4%, bringing declines for the year to 9.6%.
With tariffs now at 15%, the gross industry impact is projected to be about ¥1.9 trillion, Goldman Sachs Japan analyst Kota Yuzawa wrote in a note, a downward revision from the investment bank’s previous estimate of around ¥3.5 trillion under the higher levies.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s top trade negotiator, has repeatedly said that the US’s automobile tariffs are unacceptable, arguing that Japan’s car industry has made an enormous contribution to the US economy via the investment of more than $60 billion and the creation of 2.3 million jobs.
The sector accounts for about one-third of Japan’s exports to the US and is often considered a bellwether for wage trends. It generates around 10% of Japan’s gross domestic product.
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