Import Curb to Chill Japan Investments in U.S.: Seko

August 3, 2018

Lafayette, Indiana- Visiting Japanese trade minister Hiroshige Seko reiterated on Thursday Tokyo's opposition to the planned U.S. tariffs on cars and auto parts.

The fresh tariffs proposed by the administration of President Donald Trump "will extinguish Japanese companies' willingness to invest" in the United State, Seko told reporters after touring Subaru Corp.'s vehicle assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana.

During his visit to the factory, Seko told locally hired workers that many Japanese companies have decided to further invest in the country in view of significant effects of tax system reforms by the Trump administration.

Pointing out that Japanese automakers have created 1.5 million jobs in the U.S. auto industry including at dealers and suppliers, Seko also stressed that if the tariffs are actually slapped, the U.S. labor market "could be hurt" because new car prices will go up to cause a sales slump.

Seko visited the auto plant in the Midwest, where many U.S. arms of Japanese automakers have production footholds and hire locals, to underscore the significance of Japanese companies' contribution to investment and job creation in the country. Jiji Press