Trump Pushes Japan Again to Make More Cars in U.S.

When President Donald Trump met last week with Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he reiterated his demand that Japanese carmakers produce more cars in the U.S.

Trump told a campaign rally on Saturday that Abe assured him Japan’s auto industry would invest $40 billion for factories in the U.S. The president provided no timetable and didn’t say whether the figure includes expansions of existing facilities as well as new plants.

The Japanese government has not commented on Trump’s $40 billion figure, which approximately equals the current value of vehicles imported annually to the U.S. from Japan.

The White House wants Japan to ease tariffs on U.S. farm products. Trump has threatened to hike import tariffs as great as 25% on Japanese cars to force such a deal. Japan hopes to avoid the tax and is coax the Trump administration into exempting the country from U.S. import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum.

Trump declared on Friday that it’s possible the two countries will reach a bilateral trade agreement before he visits Japan in May, in spite of what appears to be a wide gulf on key issues between the two countries.