Florida claims top spot in US for ease of investment: Nikkei-FT ranking
YUJI OHIRA
HOUSTON, Texas -- The city of Tampa in the state of Florida rose to become the best place for foreign companies to invest in the U.S., according to a new ranking by Nikkei and the Financial Times published Monday.
The city claimed the top spot thanks to its low cost of living and cheap labor, as well as an economic structure insulates it from the impact of the Trump administration's tariffs.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Japan Times
10 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Japan's right-wing fringe is no MAGA or reform movement
Plenty of contentious issues loom ahead of Sunday's elections in Japan: A shrinking economy, falling real wages and no trade deal to shield against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. But the narrative has instead been dominated by a fringe group and its chatter about the nation's growing cohort of foreign residents. A spike in the polls for the right-wing Sanseito has alarmed mainstream parties and shifted the debate to its anti-immigration policies. Leader Sohei Kamiya denounces "globalism' and wants fewer overseas workers. The party's "Japanese First' slogan intentionally riffs on Trump. It won three seats in last year's Lower House vote and three more in Tokyo's recent assembly election.


Japan Today
31 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Japan racks up trade deficit amid threat from Trump's tariffs
A car, center, is moved to another location of the area where export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama on April 8. By YURI KAGEYAMA Japan sank into a trade deficit of 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion) for the first six month of this year, according to government data released Thursday, as exports were hit by President Donald Trump's tariffs. In June, Japan's exports slipped 0.5% from a year earlier after its shipments of vehicles and other products were slapped with a 25% tariff. Trump has postponed implementing that higher import duty until Aug. 1, to allow time for negotiations but so far no deal has been reached. Exports in June totaled nearly 9.2 trillion yen ($62 billion), in the second straight month of declines. Imports in June rose 0.2% to 9 trillion yen ($61 billion), the Finance Ministry said. That left a trade surplus of 153 billion yen (just over $1 billion). The trade deficit in May was 637.6 billion yen, or $4.4 billion. Japan's exports to the United States fell 11% in June, with auto exports plunging 25%. Shipments to China decreased by nearly 5%. Exports to Mexico, a major auto assembly hub for North America for Japanese automakers, fell nearly 20%. In the first half of the year, Japan's exports totaled 53.4 trillion yen ($360 billion), up 3.6%, while imports rose 1.3% to 55.6 trillion yen ($375 billion). Japan and the U.S. have been holding trade talks, with Japanese officials stressing that Japan is a key U.S. ally. Trump has focused on rice, a sector traditionally protected from foreign competition for the sake of Japan's food security. Japan imports more than 300,000 tons of rice a year from the U.S., according to various data, although some of that is used for animal feed. Japan will hold an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday. Given falling public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration, the conservative and pro-business ruling Liberal Democratic Party could lose its majority unless it gains another coalition partner. Japan's economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, partly due to slowing exports. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


Yomiuri Shimbun
2 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan's Exports to U.S. Drop for 3rd Straight Month in June
Tokyo, July 17 (Jiji Press)—Japan's exports to the United States fell for the third consecutive month in June, hit by U.S. President Donald Trump's auto tariffs, preliminary customs-cleared data released by the Finance Ministry Thursday showed. The country's U.S-bound exports declined 11.4 pct from a year before to ¥1,707.1 billion . Vehicle exports to the United States dropped 26.7 pct in value but rose 3.4 pct in volume. The figures indicate that Japanese automakers are shipping their vehicles to the U.S. market at reduced prices by absorbing costs from Trump's tariffs. U.S.-bound exports of pharmaceuticals tumbled 40.9 pct and those of auto parts dropped 15.5 pct. Japan's global exports decreased 0.5 pct to ¥9,162.6 billion mainly because of lower U.S.-bound vehicle shipments. The country's imports inched up 0.2 pct to ¥9,009.5 billion , driven by higher imports of pharmaceuticals from Ireland and smartphones from China. Overall, Japan posted a trade surplus of ¥153.1 billion , the first surplus in three months. In the first half of 2025, Japan recorded a trade deficit of ¥2,215.8 billion . The country's trade surplus with the United States expanded 6.2 pct from a year before to ¥4,132 billion .