Tariff Impact: Japan's Exports to US Decline for Third Consecutive Month in June Compared to Last Year

Japan's Automobile Exports to the US Drop by 26.7%

Japan's exports to the United States in June declined by more than 10% compared to the same month last year, marking a decrease for the third consecutive month.

According to preliminary trade statistics for June released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on July 17, exports to the United States last month totaled 1.7071 trillion yen (approximately 16 trillion won), a decrease of 11.4% from the same period last year. As a result, exports to the United States have now declined year-on-year for three consecutive months. In particular, automobile exports to the United States last month dropped by as much as 26.7%.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported, "The tariff policies of the Donald Trump administration have had a significant impact," and added, "In the case of automobiles, Japanese companies appear to have lowered prices or prioritized the export of lower-priced models in order to mitigate the effects of tariffs."

However, Japan recorded a trade surplus of 153.1 billion yen (approximately 1.4 trillion won) last month. This marks a return to surplus after three months. The increase in the trade surplus with Asian countries excluding China, as well as the continued, albeit reduced, surplus in trade with the United States, contributed to this result.

Last month, Japan's trade surplus with the United States was 669.2 billion yen (approximately 6.3 trillion won), a decrease of 22.9% compared to the same month last year. For the first half of this year, Japan's overall trade balance was a deficit of 2.2158 trillion yen (approximately 20.8 trillion won).

In trade with the United States, Japan posted a surplus of 4.132 trillion yen, while it recorded deficits of 3.9035 trillion yen (approximately 36.6 trillion won) with China and 1.5167 trillion yen (approximately 14.2 trillion won) with the European Union (EU), respectively.