US tariffs prompt Toyota profit warning
"Due to the impact of US tariffs and other factors, actual results showed decreased operating income, and the forecast has been revised downward," the firm said in a statement.
Its shares fell by as much as 2.4 percent in Tokyo afternoon trade before recovering off lows.
The Trump administration in April imposed a 25 percent levy on Japanese cars imported into the United States, dealing a hefty blow to Japan and its crucial auto sector.
Although Tokyo and Washington announced a trade deal in July, lowering that rate to 15 percent and providing a degree of relief for the industry, it's not yet clear when it will take effect.
There is also confusion over whether the car tariff -- as well as other "reciprocal" levies -- will be capped at 15 percent, or if these would come on top of those in place before Trump's trade blitz.
The auto industry had a pre-existing 2.5 percent tariff, meaning the levy currently stands at 27.5 percent.
Toyota's revenues in the first quarter were up 3.5 percent, but net income plunged by 36.9 percent.
Tariffs hit forecasts
The results come after Honda said Wednesday its net profit had halved in the first quarter because of US tariffs, although it upgraded its annual profit forecast due to the deal with Washington.
In the first three months of its fiscal year, which begins in April, net profit fell to 196.67 billion yen ($1.3 billion), a drop of 50.2 percent year-on-year, Honda said.
Revenue dipped 1.2 percent to 5.34 trillion yen.
Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker after Toyota, has managed to withstand the pressure better than its Japanese competitors.
More than 60 percent of the vehicles it sells in the United States are built there, the highest percentage of all major Japanese automakers, according to Bloomberg Intelligence auto analyst Tatsuo Yoshida.
Struggling Japanese rival Nissan, whose mooted merger with Honda collapsed this year and which is slashing jobs and closing factories, in July posted a net loss of 116 billion yen ($784 million).
German carmaker BMW stuck to its 2025 targets last month despite quarterly profits tumbling a third due partly to US tariffs, insisting its large American operations meant it could weather the storm.
That stood in contrast to domestic rivals Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, who cut their outlooks as they grapple with the fallout from Trump's hardball trade policies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Swiss gold refining sector stung by US tariffs
But a White House official told AFP that President Donald Trump 's administration plans to "issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products". It was not immediately clear if this meant the products would therefore be exempt from Trump's "reciprocal" levies, imposed to address what Washington deems as unfair trade deficits. One-kilo gold bars are the most traded type of bullion on Comex, the world's biggest futures market, and Switzerland is a major supplier of the bars on the physical market. Expectations had been widespread that gold bars would be classified under a different customs code that excludes them from Trump's countrywide tariffs. Higher "reciprocal" rates took effect Thursday on dozens of economies. Swiss officials travelled to Washington this week to seek a deal similar to the European Union, whose products now face a 15% rate. But they came back empty handed. The customs update increased pressure on the Swiss government as gold trading weighs heavily on its trade balance. John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion, expects some of the gold refining business would likely flow to other industry centres such as Antwerp. Gold bars produced in the Belgian city Antwerp face a 15% US tariff applied to EU goods. Switzerland is home to four of the world's largest gold refineries, the largest being Valcambi in Balerna, in the Italian-speaking part of the country. They import unrefined gold coming from mines, recycled jewellery or lower-purity bars to be recast into high-quality bars, making Switzerland a hub for the global gold trade. These bars are then reintroduced to the market for jewellery, watchmaking, industry and tech products, as well as the banking sector and for use as central bank reserves. According to a Swiss Federal Customs Administration report, the country imported 2,372 tonnes of gold in 2023 and re-exported 1,564 tonnes. The value of these exports approached 88 billion Swiss francs ($109 billion at current rates), with the main buyers being China at 25.1 billion francs and India at 13.1 billion francs. Including other precious metals like silver and palladium, the sector accounts for 1,500 direct jobs in the country and 1,000 indirect jobs, according to the Swiss association of manufacturers and traders of precious metals. In 2023, Switzerland accounted for 34% of the total refined gold worldwide, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Swiss gold exports to the United States soared to 11 billion Swiss francs last year, nearly doubling from 6.1 billion in 2023. They then skyrocketed in the first half of 2025, reaching 39.2 billion francs, compared to nearly 1.7 billion in the first half of 2024, according to data Swiss customs provided to AFP. Nearly all of the gold, 37.6 billion francs' worth, was exported in the first quarter of 2025. Shipments then plummeted sharply to roughly 1.6 billion francs in the second quarter. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter on Thursday strongly disagreed with how Trump assessed the US trade deficit with Switzerland, and thus the high tariff imposed. She said the rise in gold exports in 2024 had led to the increase in the deficit. Swiss newspaper Le Temps noted Tuesday that to calculate customs duties on Switzerland "the White House seems to have relied exclusively on 2024 data, "which was "an atypical year". Swiss gold exports to the United States skyrocketed in November, when Trump won the presidential election, triggering a surge in "safe haven" investments such as gold, it said.
Fashion Network
4 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Swiss gold refining sector stung by US tariffs
But a White House official told AFP that President Donald Trump 's administration plans to "issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products". It was not immediately clear if this meant the products would therefore be exempt from Trump's "reciprocal" levies, imposed to address what Washington deems as unfair trade deficits. One-kilo gold bars are the most traded type of bullion on Comex, the world's biggest futures market, and Switzerland is a major supplier of the bars on the physical market. Expectations had been widespread that gold bars would be classified under a different customs code that excludes them from Trump's countrywide tariffs. Higher "reciprocal" rates took effect Thursday on dozens of economies. Swiss officials travelled to Washington this week to seek a deal similar to the European Union, whose products now face a 15% rate. But they came back empty handed. The customs update increased pressure on the Swiss government as gold trading weighs heavily on its trade balance. John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion, expects some of the gold refining business would likely flow to other industry centres such as Antwerp. Gold bars produced in the Belgian city Antwerp face a 15% US tariff applied to EU goods. Switzerland is home to four of the world's largest gold refineries, the largest being Valcambi in Balerna, in the Italian-speaking part of the country. They import unrefined gold coming from mines, recycled jewellery or lower-purity bars to be recast into high-quality bars, making Switzerland a hub for the global gold trade. These bars are then reintroduced to the market for jewellery, watchmaking, industry and tech products, as well as the banking sector and for use as central bank reserves. According to a Swiss Federal Customs Administration report, the country imported 2,372 tonnes of gold in 2023 and re-exported 1,564 tonnes. The value of these exports approached 88 billion Swiss francs ($109 billion at current rates), with the main buyers being China at 25.1 billion francs and India at 13.1 billion francs. Including other precious metals like silver and palladium, the sector accounts for 1,500 direct jobs in the country and 1,000 indirect jobs, according to the Swiss association of manufacturers and traders of precious metals. In 2023, Switzerland accounted for 34% of the total refined gold worldwide, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Swiss gold exports to the United States soared to 11 billion Swiss francs last year, nearly doubling from 6.1 billion in 2023. They then skyrocketed in the first half of 2025, reaching 39.2 billion francs, compared to nearly 1.7 billion in the first half of 2024, according to data Swiss customs provided to AFP. Nearly all of the gold, 37.6 billion francs' worth, was exported in the first quarter of 2025. Shipments then plummeted sharply to roughly 1.6 billion francs in the second quarter. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter on Thursday strongly disagreed with how Trump assessed the US trade deficit with Switzerland, and thus the high tariff imposed. She said the rise in gold exports in 2024 had led to the increase in the deficit. Swiss newspaper Le Temps noted Tuesday that to calculate customs duties on Switzerland "the White House seems to have relied exclusively on 2024 data, "which was "an atypical year". Swiss gold exports to the United States skyrocketed in November, when Trump won the presidential election, triggering a surge in "safe haven" investments such as gold, it said.
Fashion Network
6 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Swiss gold refining sector stung by US tariffs
But a White House official told AFP that President Donald Trump 's administration plans to "issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products". It was not immediately clear if this meant the products would therefore be exempt from Trump's "reciprocal" levies, imposed to address what Washington deems as unfair trade deficits. One-kilo gold bars are the most traded type of bullion on Comex, the world's biggest futures market, and Switzerland is a major supplier of the bars on the physical market. Expectations had been widespread that gold bars would be classified under a different customs code that excludes them from Trump's countrywide tariffs. Higher "reciprocal" rates took effect Thursday on dozens of economies. Swiss officials travelled to Washington this week to seek a deal similar to the European Union, whose products now face a 15% rate. But they came back empty handed. The customs update increased pressure on the Swiss government as gold trading weighs heavily on its trade balance. John Plassard, head of investment strategy at Cite Gestion, expects some of the gold refining business would likely flow to other industry centres such as Antwerp. Gold bars produced in the Belgian city Antwerp face a 15% US tariff applied to EU goods. Switzerland is home to four of the world's largest gold refineries, the largest being Valcambi in Balerna, in the Italian-speaking part of the country. They import unrefined gold coming from mines, recycled jewellery or lower-purity bars to be recast into high-quality bars, making Switzerland a hub for the global gold trade. These bars are then reintroduced to the market for jewellery, watchmaking, industry and tech products, as well as the banking sector and for use as central bank reserves. According to a Swiss Federal Customs Administration report, the country imported 2,372 tonnes of gold in 2023 and re-exported 1,564 tonnes. The value of these exports approached 88 billion Swiss francs ($109 billion at current rates), with the main buyers being China at 25.1 billion francs and India at 13.1 billion francs. Including other precious metals like silver and palladium, the sector accounts for 1,500 direct jobs in the country and 1,000 indirect jobs, according to the Swiss association of manufacturers and traders of precious metals. In 2023, Switzerland accounted for 34% of the total refined gold worldwide, according to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Swiss gold exports to the United States soared to 11 billion Swiss francs last year, nearly doubling from 6.1 billion in 2023. They then skyrocketed in the first half of 2025, reaching 39.2 billion francs, compared to nearly 1.7 billion in the first half of 2024, according to data Swiss customs provided to AFP. Nearly all of the gold, 37.6 billion francs' worth, was exported in the first quarter of 2025. Shipments then plummeted sharply to roughly 1.6 billion francs in the second quarter. Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter on Thursday strongly disagreed with how Trump assessed the US trade deficit with Switzerland, and thus the high tariff imposed. She said the rise in gold exports in 2024 had led to the increase in the deficit. Swiss newspaper Le Temps noted Tuesday that to calculate customs duties on Switzerland "the White House seems to have relied exclusively on 2024 data, "which was "an atypical year". Swiss gold exports to the United States skyrocketed in November, when Trump won the presidential election, triggering a surge in "safe haven" investments such as gold, it said.
