Chairman Nakamura’s Comments on the US-Japan Trade Agreement

September 26, 2019

We are pleased that trade negotiations between Japan and the US have reached an agreement, and that the contents of a deal have been confirmed in the joint statement. I would like to express my appreciation to the officials who took part in the negotiations, for their dedicated hard work.

It has been confirmed that no additional tariffs will be imposed on automobiles according to the terms of Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act, and no quota imposed on imports of Japanese vehicles while both nations faith fully implementing these agreements. The Japanese auto industry has a wide base of supporting industries. If restrictions had been imposed, they would have increased uncertainty for business management, with possible repercussions for the entire Japanese economy, so this is good news indeed.

No agreement was reached on a timeframe for reducing tariffs on imports of Japanese automobiles and parts into the US. Discussions will continue, and we hope the issue will be resolved soon.

On the Japanese side, it was agreed to reduce tariffs on imports of US agricultural products to the same levels as for TPP members. We welcome this agreement.

We hope that the trade agreement will come into effect as soon as possible.