Japan says U.S. tariffs may break WTO rules

As if Mango Musolini administration care about "rules" and "laws"

This assumes that they knew the rules in the first place. Given that they've already been busted on how they "calculated" these tariffs, it's a fair bet that they've been doing everything basically with the "throw the dart at the board wearing a blindfold" approach.

I'd say it was amateur hour, but that would be an insult to amateurs.

"Japan are very very tough. Great people.... They would charge us 46 percent, and much higher for certain items," Trump said. "We are charging them 24 percent."

Fact Check

Japan does not charge 46% tariff on any imports from the United States.

The highest import tariffs are;

Rice....................JY 341 per Kg.

Fresh Beef........ 38.5%

Leather shoes.. 30%

Cheese..............29.8 %

Sports Shoes...21.6%

Bananas............20%

Wine...................15%

https://www.counseling-japan.com/detailed-explanation-of-japans-import-tariffs-overview-of-product-categories-and-tax-rates/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

No surprise here, trump and his team are so professional .....

What about that visit by Akie Abe, the widow of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida in December?

That didn’t help?

And didn’t Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso (current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance) visit Trump at his office last April? Didn’t Aso try to arrange another visit with Trump while in the States in January?

None of that helped?

Japanese carmakers ship about 1.45 million cars to the United States from Canada and Mexico, where they operate factories, Bloomberg News reported.

By comparison Japan exports 1.49 million cars directly to the United States, while Japanese automakers make 3.3 million cars in America.

So Japanese companies make far more cars in the US than those exported from Japan.

Some data from US automotive site AMN After Market News-

*Japanese-brand automakers have continued to invest in American manufacturing and have cumulatively invested more than $60.4 billion since first starting production in 1982. In the coming years, this number also will include announced investments in both electrified vehicles and battery manufacturing facilities as they come online. The update also highlights how Japanese-brand automakers directly employ more than 107,000 U.S workers and have continued to invest in areas beyond the manufacturing floor. To date, Japanese-brand automakers have 50 vehicles designed and/or developed throughout 43 R&D/design centers across the country.*

*In addition to JAMA’s annual contributions data, Dr. Prusa’s employment study shows that in 2022, Japanese-brand automobile direct employment supported 499,000 intermediate jobs and 399,000 additional “spin-off” jobs. Combined with the 1,300,000 individuals directly and indirectly employed by the Japanese-brand automakers’ dealership network, Dr. Prusa’s study concludes that Japanese-brand automakers now support more than 2.29 million U.S. jobs. The study also highlights the $197 billion in employee compensation across Japanese-brand automakers’ manufacturing and supporting operations and new vehicle dealers’ employment.*

So to use Trump's words from yesterday - “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered....”  doesn't make any mention of the benefits of Japanese investment in the US - just a rambling one size fits all poor parody.

Plug's been pulled and the strains of the gurgle starting to echo.

Good luck with that Japan. President Trump enacting what he said would since last summer and the world has a tantrum. Good money to be made on the markets during this volatility.

Japan should just charge the full costs of the US bases here and buy their weapons somewhere else

President Trump enacting what he said 

Like Mexico will pay for the wall?

The war will end on day one?

The prices will be lower?..... etc.... etc.... etc...

etc... How can anyone trust a word trump is saying is unbelievable.

Trump (and his clown car of a Cabinet) possess the global economic acumen of a middle-schooler, the kind that arrives at school on a very short bus.

..they may break WTO rules and the two countries' trade agreement.

They probably do, But Trump doesn't care as he loves to litigate everything. If taken to the WTO, Trump will waste countless amounts of money fighthing it. Just like he does in every Court in the United States. Between his perpetual legal actions and golf trips, Trump is the epitomy of Waste of taxpayer money.

Trump tried to shake up Zelensky with his "you're gambling with WWIII". Well Trump is now gambling with not just the US' but the global economy. We may very well see a global depression "the likes of which the world has never seen before".

If the US economy tanks, I hope every person who supported Trump takes a good hard look in the mirror.

Wow,

" Rice....................JY 341 per Kg. "!!?

No Wonder I don't see may Lovely and favorite Flavored Mixed Rice Packages on the shelves here.

Now this is a Crime in itself.

Let’s just watch America fall on its own sword. It’s been a long time coming.

Oh my god, we wouldn’t want to break the WTO rules. lol

Hello Kitty-san,

You said it!

“Japan should just charge the full costs of the US bases here and buy their weapons somewhere else”

If they absolutely have to have their bases here, they should lease the land at the same price Japanese people would pay. That alone would bankrupt them. With the bases, the US has been ripping off Japan since WWII!

Pay up or get out!

I feel very surprised that Japan behaves as the best dog pampering America the master does not got an exemption of tariffs!

Japan complaining now that’s something new. lol

I’m with Bertie above. Let the US pay for the occupation.

Unfortunately, that would require some spine from the LDP, who have done very well out of this deal over the years, so won’t happen.

In the meantime, simply don’t buy anything American. If we don’t buy it, we don’t pay the tariffs.

And “we see charging them?”…. Fools. Tariffs are paid by the consumer. Who cares Japan. They will still buy as if they want it they will buy it. Americans are paying more. Doesn’t matter at all. Add an export tax on top of it. Don’t go the way of tariffs and hurt your own people. Charge export duties now to add to the pain for America.

WoodyLeeToday  06:21 pm JST

Wow,

" Rice....................JY 341 per Kg. "!!?

No tariff is paid on American imported rice. Zero, none, nothing.

The tariff kicks in only after the first 350,000 tons of rice. Want to guess how much American rice is imported? 350,000 tons.

Net tariff paid is zero every year..

And it’s not high quality rice used for consumers, it’s low quality rice used mostly for animal feed.

Japan imports 770,000 tons of rice every year and the U.S. is the largest source. The rest is divided among the rest of the countries exporting to Japan.

Fact Check

Japan does not charge 46% tariff on any imports from the United States.

The highest import tariffs are;

Rice....................JY 341 per Kg.

This is after the 767,000 tonnes per year minimum access amount that is imported with no tariff.

What was it that Kissinger said about being an enemy of USA and being an ally of USA?

Trumps White house seems to by lying through its backside when complaining about "so called tariffs" on US goods.

Australia allows 99% of US goods into the country with no tariffs. As does Switzerland. But the US maintains Australia has 10% tariffs on US goods and Switzerland 61%. These figures are made up nonsense.

Australia has a 10% GST (Goods and services tax) sales tax. Most nations have their own version of sales tax including America. These are not tariffs.

Trump the destroyer of America, bringing Americas world wide reputation into the gutter.

How to lose all your friends in 2 easy lessons. Vote for Trump, allow Trump to do whatever stupid thing comes to mind. And the MAGA crowd cheer this behavior on, unaware of the danger this brings to an America left all alone. American strength of building alliances wiped away and lost.

Forget about this rule or any other. The rest of the world should just get on with ourselves, exchange/trade/etc, make a better life for our people. America can do whatever it wants, be great/the best/etc, by itself. When it was the most dominant, everything was ok/possible, once its dominance/hegemony is threatened, its true color/face surface. So, don't be fooled.

Okay, the logic, if you want to call it that, behind the tariff percentages has been deciphered. It took a while, until someone said, “It couldn’t be that stupid, could it?”

Sure enough, it was that stupid.

They took the trade deficit for each country and divide it by exports. Good grief, they really are children.

The trade deficit numbers don’t include the services exported by the U.S., a substantial portion of U.S. exports, only hard goods.

If there was a trade surplus, they simply added an arbitrary percentage.

They even placed a tariff on an inhabited island.

Their heads are uninhabited.

He'll put a 30% tariff on Narnia, next.

No Tarrifs on Russia.

we know America has been handed over already.

Trump the chump will be remembered with disgust and amazement that Americans could be so dumb as to elect him twice. Apparently anything to stop a woman from being in charge right? Even to electing a convicted criminal before a woman. What a huge mistake that was...both times.

Japanese government openly engages/encourages a formal/informal de facto range of non-tariff barriers.

Community enforced standards to business trading, that restricts outside import competition    

Restrictive practices requirements to tender across sectors/projects that foreign companies must show proven prior experience in Japan. This action effectively shuts out any cooperation/competition in local markets.

Regulatory frameworks that guarantee domestic producers, to openly discriminate against foreign producers.

Ad hoc licensing for industry associations that ultimately leverage market influence.

The most toxic is cross stock holding that weaponizes business interests favouring Japanese companies.

Sector cartels.

Probably, most of all the cultural tradition associated with close personal business relationships.

An example. I have quite an extensive seasonal fruit and veg garden holding.

I produce a whole range of fruit and vegetables, more than for personal need. I give to my family some of the produce I don’t need.

During the pandemic I gave fruit and veg to my local community.

My farming neighbours politely insisted they purchased any produce I found to be excess to my needs.

I have a very good friendly relationship with these farmers. I decided to give them the produce. This was informally to maintain local prices

In the picture above, are there dozens or hundreds of drivers to drive those many cars onto the ships?

The soccer called mar Lago doctrine is based on the assumption that countries will quickly give in to US demands. Yet, there are two flaws with this idea;one countries aren't and Secondly unless they give in quickly the US is going to destroy their economy.

For example their is a world wide shortage of microchips if Taiwan decides to stop selling to the US and instead sells those chips to other countries the whole of silicon valley will disappear.

Trump seems to forget that the US isn't the only market in the world

I don’t know why people are so surprised by this! Trump had said this numerous times during the election campaign and people voted for him. Now every middle income earners and low income people will suffer the consequences as prices for everything will rise. I for one am glad because it’s these same low income and middle income earners who put Trump into power so they should feel the consequences!

Trump is a monster.

Now every middle income earners and low income people will suffer the consequences as prices for everything will rise. I for one am glad because it’s these same low income and middle income earners who put Trump into power so they should feel the consequences!

Unfortunately, there are MANY low and middle income earners, including me, that DIDN'T vote for Trump and are suffering because of him and the cult commonly referred to as the Republican Party. Although painful, my family and I should be positioned to survive his idiotic policies. I, for one, like seeing the country go down the drain and hope that we see Stagflation so we can get the MAGA cultists out of office starting in 2026.

If it's fair for Japan to apply huge tariffs to our goods, why is it not fair for us to apply tariffs to them?

Many know-it-alls pretending to be economic speculators posting and putting down the US Government here.

What happens if you're all wrong? Will you spin it another way?

Keep calm and carry on. Trump is simply taxing the hell out of Americans. That doesn't usually work out well.

If you sell to rich Americans, just carry on. They won't notice the higher prices.

For everything else, it's a big planet. Focus on expanding sales to non-US customers. If you produce quality stuff, it will sell, globally.

Whilst Trump isolates America and makes it poorer and less relevant, this would be a good time for China to roll out free trade deals with anyone who wants them.

He waited until the Stock Market closed yesterday before announcing the tariffs. That way the crash wouldn't ruin his "Liberation Day". Don't forget it was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that really made the great depression so devastating.

Ya don't say...

Many know-it-alls pretending to be economic speculators posting and putting down the US Government here.

What happens if you're all wrong?

The Dow is down 1200 points and only halfway through the day. They might know a little about economics.

Oh, and also virtually every economist in the world and business leaders say Trump’s tariffs will cause years of damage. Except for the ones working in the White House and there aren’t many.

Trump said the factory worker in a hard hat at his silly garden party is smarter than any economist. Yeah, right.

OK world…..elbows up.

Trump said the factory worker in a hard hat at his silly garden party is smarter than any economist. Yeah, right.

The factory worker is exactly why TRUMP won the election, TRUMP is an elitist fighting for the middle-class American. His ideas are bold and this has never been done before. Judgement after 1 day is nonsensical.

otherworldlyToday  02:20 am JST

The factory worker is exactly why TRUMP won the election, TRUMP is an elitist fighting for the middle-class American. His ideas are bold and this has never been done before. Judgement after 1 day is nonsensical.

If someone thinks Trump is fighting for the middle class, that is otherworldly.

His ideas are stupid, which is precisely why they've never been done before.

Just when you think things couldn't get any more stupid, listen to this:

The White House asked ChatGPT how to set tariffs and they used that technique.

I'm not kidding.

I see it as a win-win: maybe eventually moves like this can revive the steel and electronics industries in the US. In the mean time, Trump's popularity will be exploring new depths.

“Japan are very tough,” says trump. ARE?

Should have used DeepSeek ...

The White House asked ChatGPT how to set tariffs and they used that technique.

The good old US has never cared about the rules of the rest of the world; its selfish ambitions and geopolitical whims only harm the free world..

Trump is a monster.

He is too coward to be a monster..

Trump is just a pathetic narcissistic megalomaniatic clown..

Wall Street had its worst day since the height of the Covid crash in 2020 after President Donald Trump's tariffs sparked fears of a US and global recession.

'Extremely regrettable'.

I know the Japanese are polite, I love that about them, but they need to learn to use language the US will understand, once in a while.

Take a leaf out of the Australian leader's book - 'This is not the act of a friend'. There you go, that's straight to the point, the honest truth.

Japan is a big economy - swing your weight about a little more! Give the US a mouthful over this.

"Good money to be made on the markets during this volatility."

Especially to those whom Trump tips off 1 -2 days before he publicly announces to add or remove tariffs.

The highest import tariffs are;

Rice....................JY 341 per Kg.

Fresh Beef........ 38.5%

Leather shoes.. 30%

Cheese..............29.8 %

Sports Shoes...21.6%

Bananas............20%

Wine...................15%

President Trump (in my opinion) should impose equal tariff's to the above products imported into the USA from Japan.

U.S. tariffs on leather shoes was already 50%.

No tariff is paid on American rice exporters to Japan. Zero, none, nothing.

The tariff kicks in only after the first 350,000 tons of rice. Want to guess how much American rice is imported? 350,000 tons.

Net tariff paid is zero every year..

And it’s not high quality rice used for consumers, it’s low quality rice used mostly for animal feed.

U.S. already had a 25% tariff on cheese before now.

U.S. already had a 29% tariff on wine.

——-

There should be a tariff on Fox News to stop telling only half of the story.

Japan does not charge a tariff on U.S. made cars. They were eliminated back in 1971.

Watching Trump's speech on TV I saw him justify this "Japan imposes 46% tariffs" on US made cars by including "non-tariff" costs, such as modifications to meet Japanese road safety requirements.

The Japanese auto makers who export to the US pay for the costs of modifications to meet US road safety standards and requirements in order to export to the U.S. They don't consider that a "tariff".

This "46%" is total nonsense.

Japan should respond to this stupidity by immediately "reconsidering" further F-35 and Boeing purchases.

SpeedApr. 3  10:15 pm JST

In the picture above, are there dozens or hundreds of drivers to drive those many cars onto the ships?

Most loadports require 100-300 drivers to load a full cargo up to 8000 vehicles onto a RORO (roll on/roll off) PCC (Pure Car Carrier)/PCTC (Pure car truck carrier), These vessels are built for, and can only carry vehicles.

Very large loadports such as Nagoya or Yokohama will use up to 400 drivers.

BTW, whilst these drivers take extreme caution to avoid any cargo damage, the manner, skill, precision and speed at which they drive these cars onboard is quite exhilarating to watch.

So weird that the MAGA pro-tariff crowd is so silent.

Are they maybe looking at their meme stock portfolios?

No, they are laughing at all the overthinkers.

It is so true that MAGA believe that thinking is a bad thing.

They took the trade deficit for each country and divide it by exports. Good grief, they really are children.

Worse than that, they are putting tariffs on country's America has a trade surplus with, not a deficit. Trumps loony tunes administration says its for nations America has a deficit with but its not.

More Trump lies.

Trump wants to tax Americans so hard, and blame everyone else for it. Sadly it seems Americans are so dumb most fall for it hook, line and sinker.

America acting dumber by the day.

https://www.factcheck.org/2025/04/trumps-misleading-tariff-chart/ explains how wrong Trump's little visual aid is.

If he wants to use reciprocal tariffs, then he needs some actual economists to create the plan, not just look at trade amounts in each direction and make up numbers to match that.

So, Japan has a 38% tariff on US beef imports. What's the total impact of those tariffs? Find something that the US imports from Japan that could have a low tariff and match the total amount. Do this over and over with different categories and the different tariffs.

Most importantly, have the President uninvolved and make setting the tariffs part of bureaucratic operations with oversight by watchdogs to ensure bureaucrats don't take payoffs.

Sometimes a 2% tariff in the US is equivalent to a 38% tariff somewhere else. Just depends on the amount of trade.

Actual tariff numbers need to be used. Adding in fuzzy things that are extremely hard to count like currency manipulation and aid importing illegal people/items can't be used, since it can't be closely approximated. And should national health care subsidies not be included? They are about 10% different from the US costs for health care. Fair is fair, right?

The good old US has never cared about the rules of the rest of the world; its selfish ambitions and geopolitical whims only harm the free world..

Not true, the USA made the rules, on two occasions; Bretton Woods Conference and then neoliberal capitalism under Reagan. Now, they want to flip the script. But I don't think the USA has the cards (as Trump would say). The world has already moved on and nobody trusts the USA like they once did.

This isn't about tariffs; why waste time talking about that? It is about applying pressure to demand concessions out of every other country to effectively make them vassal states whereby they peg their currency to the USD, pay for access to USA markets and for 'protection'. Interestingly, it is not unlike how the mob works.

Jimmy RayToday 02:05 am JST

This isn't about tariffs; why waste time talking about that? It is about applying pressure to demand concessions out of every other country to effectively make them vassal states whereby they peg their currency to the USD, pay for access to USA markets and for 'protection'. Interestingly, it is not unlike how the mob works.

Pegging currencies to the dollar is the opposite of what is needed. That is what China does to get their advantage.

TokyoLivingApr. 4 03:49 am JST

The good old US has never cared about the rules of the rest of the world; its selfish ambitions and geopolitical whims only harm the free world..

Yes, and in your view, China/NK/Iran/russia are the free world.

Trump's Art of the Tariff Deal is in turmoil. China introduced 35% tariffs on US goods and banned the export of essential items like rare earth minerals, causing big falls in stock markets.

TaiwanIsNotChina, "Is there a credible economist that made this claim? Stock market was at an all time high and gdp growth was the highest in the G7."

Professor Richard D. Wolff said so. Stock market is in a tailspin, dropping like crazy and US gdp is expected to be in negative. Stagflation is around the corner. No matter what he does unless he reverses the gear, he will not be able to pull the US out of demise. He is hoping the US would get rich by stealing from the poor. Tariff is another type of consumption tax which affects the poor the most.

TaiwanIsNotChina, “Pegging currencies to the dollar is the opposite of what is needed. That is what China does to get their advantage.”

FYI, China hasn’t been pegging to the dollar for many years now, they use basket of currencies not just USD. USD has been weakening, does this mean the US is taking advantage of others? Normally in times of crisis, USD tends to appropriate but not this time, I wonder why.

US economy has been in big trouble, Trump thought this is the only way for the US to survive. It’s like dying fish in shallow water so its last breath is to splatter to get more water from others. His main aim is to lower the national debts, doing it this way is the fastest because when the recession is knocking at the door, oil prices and interest rates would go down. These and tariffs will help lower some debt obligations. He is hoping this will be temporary but damages will be long lasting. He still thinks that the US is in a strong position and other countries would cave and beg, some will do but most will not. US is no longer the leader of the world but is seen as a bully and thug. This is a turning point in history to see an empire collapses in front of your eyes.