Japan‘s automotive competitiveness has stagnated in the United States, considering its auto sales in that market.

From January to May 2025, auto exports to the United States from Japan were $16.749 billion, up 0.5% year-on-year, according to Commerce Department data.

Japan’s automotive competitiveness

In the first five months of 2025, the Japanese share of total auto imports to the United States was 20.8 percent.

A decade ago, in all of 2025, this market share was 21.5 percent.

On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency. He justified the move because of large and persistent annual deficits in U.S. trade in goods.

On the same day, he imposed a 10% across-the-board tariff on nearly all of the country’s trading partners.

However, he announced a temporary suspension. Some countries, including Japan, were exempted for 90 days.

But the relief was short-lived. In July, Trump announced a new 25% tariff on Japanese imports, effective August 1, 2025.

Below is the trend of U.S. imports of cars originating in Japan, in millions of dollars:

• 2015: 35,769.
• 2016: 39,261.
• 2017: 39,863.
• 2018: 40,404.
• 2019: 39,093.
• 2020: 32,271.
• 2021: 32,691.
• 2022: 32,817.
• 2023: 40,056.
• 2024: 39,933.
• January-May 2024: 16,671.
• January-May 2025: 16,749.

Trade negotiations

Currently, the Trump Administration is evaluating new tariffs. This time, under Article 232, on key sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, trucks and critical minerals.

The move has generated immediate reactions.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the U.S. stance “disappointing.”

In response, Tokyo is seeking to open a channel for dialogue. Ishiba is pushing for bilateral negotiations with the aim of eliminating the tariffs.

However, progress has been limited. Despite several rounds of talks, no agreement has yet been reached and trade tensions between the two nations persist.

In 2024, the United States imported $55.8 billion worth of Japanese vehicles.

In contrast, U.S. automotive exports to Japan totaled just $2.3 billion, according to BEA data.

The asymmetry goes beyond trade.

A U.S. congressional analysis reveals that, since 2024, Japanese manufacturers have invested $66.4 billion in U.S. plants. In contrast, U.S. automakers have no factories on Japanese soil.