Toyota Worried over Planned Add-On Auto Tariffs in U.S.

June 28, 2018

New York- Toyota Motor Corp.on Wednesday voiced concern over a plan by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to raise tariffs on imported automobiles to up to 25 pct for national security grounds.

The planned tariff hike is "just a tax on consumers" and "would increase the cost of every vehicle sold" in the United States, the leading Japanese automaker said in a statement.

If the tariff rate is hiked to 25 pct, the cost of Toyota's Camry flagship sedan would increase by 1,800 dollars, the company said.

Noting that Toyota employs about 137,000 people in the United States, the statement said, "They are not a national security threat."

Toyota said that it operates 10 plants in the United States, emphasizing, "We are an exemplar of the manufacturing might of America."

Trump has instructed the Commerce Department to conduct an investigation, under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, to determine whether vehicles imported to the United States are a threat to its national security.

In the statement, Toyota stressed, "We believe the only plausible outcome of this investigation is to reject the notion that automotive imports threaten national security."

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which comprises U.S., Japanese and European automakers, criticized the planned tariff increase.

"While we understand that the administration is working to achieve a level playing field, tariffs are not the right approach," it said.

Tariffs on autos and auto parts "raise vehicle prices for all customers, limit consumer choice and invite retaliatory action by our trading partners," it said.

Automakers support reducing trade barriers across the board and achieving fairness "through facilitating rather than inhibiting trade," the group also said.

A 25 pct tariff would hit American consumers with a tax of nearly 45 billion dollars a year, based on auto sales in 2017, result in a 1.5 pct decline in U.S. automobile production and cause 195,000 U.S. workers to lose jobs over a period of one to three years or possibly longer, the group added. Jiji Press