Japan's exports to the U.S. in August fell to the largest decline in four years, with the automotive industry significantly affected by tariffs.

South Korean media: Japan's exports to the US fell 13.8% in August, the largest decline in four years!

On October 15, South Korean media "Seoul Economic Daily" published an article stating that according to a survey, due to high tariffs, Japan's exports to the US dropped by the largest margin in four years.

According to the August trade statistics released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan's exports to the US amounted to 1.3854 trillion yen, down 13.8% year-on-year, and have been declining for five consecutive months. Bloomberg reported that the drop in export volume in August was the largest in more than four years.

The sharp decline in Japan's exports to the US in August was largely due to the poor performance of key products, such as cars. Previously, the Trump administration had imposed a 25% tariff on Japanese cars, increasing the total tariff to 27.5% from the original 2.5%. Although the July US-Japan trade agreement reduced the car tariff to 12.5% (including the original 2.5%, totaling 15%), the new tariff took effect on September 16. In this context, Japan's car exports to the US fell sharply by 28.4% year-on-year.

Japan's total exports in August fell 0.1% year-on-year to 8.4251 trillion yen. Although exports to the US declined significantly, exports to the EU increased by 5.5%, and exports to China fell by less than 0.5%, which eased the overall impact. Imports fell 5.2% to 8.6676 trillion yen, exceeding exports. Therefore, Japan's trade balance showed a deficit of 24.25 billion yen in August, marking the second consecutive month of deficit.

Bloomberg pointed out: "For Japan, which is highly dependent on exports, the impact on trade threatens its still fragile economic growth."

Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1846012307920908/

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