It looks as though trade progress is being made with Japan, as concessions about automobiles were reported on this weekend, signaling that Trump administration could be heading towards a revised agreement with the key ally nation.
Japan may loosen auto safety rules for U.S. imports to address President Trump’s concerns over the low number of American cars sold there, Nikkei reports. With differing safety standards between the two countries, Tokyo is eyeing crash test regulations as a possible trade concession, according to Nikkei.
During a White House meeting, Trump criticized Japan’s trade surplus and poor U.S. auto sales. Cabinet-level talks focused on non-tariff barriers, particularly in the auto and agriculture sectors.
Japan, a signatory to a 1958 U.N. pact on unified auto standards, maintains its own certification process, requiring separate approval for American imports—a process that can take months. While the U.S. participates in discussions under the U.N. framework, it uses its own safety rules and lets automakers self-test.
The Nikkei report says that the U.S. Trade Representative recently flagged Japan’s crash test requirements as a non-tariff barrier, citing them as overly burdensome and unfair to U.S. carmakers. These safety standards—especially for frontal and side collisions—have long been a sticking point in trade talks.
During past Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, Japan agreed to ease some requirements for U.S. imports, such as skipping certain tests like fire retardancy. It also expanded exemptions for low-volume American car sales. However, those TPP concessions faded after Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact in 2017.
Tyler Durden
Sun, 04/20/2025 – 16:55
