Latest news with #trade deficit
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan racks up trade deficit amid threat from Trump's tariffs
TOKYO (AP) — 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. President Donald 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. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads:
Associated Press
19 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Japan racks up trade deficit amid threat from Trump's tariffs
TOKYO (AP) — 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. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads:
Al Arabiya
19 hours ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Japan Racks up Trade Deficit Amid Threat From Trump's Tariffs
Japan sank into a trade deficit of 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion) for the first six months 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 percent from a year earlier after its shipments of vehicles and other products were slapped with a 25 percent 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 percent 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 percent in June, with auto exports plunging 25 percent. Shipments to China decreased by nearly 5 percent. Exports to Mexico, a major auto assembly hub for North America for Japanese automakers, fell nearly 20 percent. In the first half of the year, Japan's exports totaled 53.4 trillion yen ($360 billion), up 3.6 percent, while imports rose 1.3 percent to 55.6 trillion yen ($375 billion). Japan and the US have been holding trade talks, with Japanese officials stressing that Japan is a key US 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 US, 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 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, partly due to slowing exports.
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan racks up trade deficit amid threat from Trump's tariffs
TOKYO (AP) — 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. President Donald 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. ___ Yuri Kageyama is on Threads: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US trade chief Greer says wants US trade deficit on downward path
By David Lawder and Andrea Shalal (Reuters) -U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Wednesday that his trade policy goal was to put the $1.2 trillion U.S. trade deficit on a downward path and to stem the loss of U.S. advanced manufacturing capacity. Greer, in remarks to a reindustrialization summit in Detroit, said that President Donald Trump's expanded tariff program was already bearing fruit in terms of spurring new industrial investments in the U.S. This includes $4 billion from General Motors to move some production to the U.S. from Mexico, new steel and pharmaceutical plants, Greer said, adding that Trump was encouraging countries to move production to the U.S. to avoid his tariffs. Greer said in most substantial policy address since taking office in late February, that the U.S. industrial decline was due to long-running trade liberalization efforts by both Democratic and Republican administrations, including allowing China to join the World Trade Organization. The 2024 U.S. trade deficit of $1.2 trillion was "a state of affairs that is as unsustainable as it is unacceptable," Greer said. "It almost sounds like Monopoly money." To help remedy this, he said Trump's tariff policies called for a universal tariff rate of 10% on all countries, with higher rates for the most "problematic" ones, including China, which has the highest tariff rate of 55%. "Of course, the president signaled a willingness to negotiate with countries if they want to have an alternative relation with us and really join us in re industrializing. And countries have been responsive," Greer said. Trump himself drafted the recent letters that he has set to a number of countries informing them of tariff rates for their imports absent trade deals, Greer said. "He had a line in there that says there will be no tariff if you decide to build or manufacture product within the United States," Greer said. Greer also said that he also wanted to increase the manufacturing share of U.S. GDP and increase the median household income in the U.S. While tariffs were an important tool in this, there are others, including the recent enactment of a massive tax cut and spending bill that includes investments in energy, tax breaks for research and development and immediate expensing of capital investments against tax liabilities. As the top U.S. trade lawyer, Greer said, "my job is to clear the playing field of all the pitfalls, the obstacles, all the unfairness that has hindered U.S. re-industrialization." Sign in to access your portfolio
