Home > World > World

Japan to discuss car safety standards in Trump tariffs talks, Nikkei Asia reports

Published: 20 Apr. 2025, 13:23

A monitor near tje Japanese and U.S. flags shows Donald Trump delivering a speech at the inauguration ceremony as president of the United States on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at a foreign exchange trading company in Tokyo. [AP/YONHAP]

Japan is considering relaxing automobile safety rules for imports as part of its tariff negotiations with the United States, Nikkei Asia reported on Sunday.

Japan has been hit with 24 percent levies on its exports to the U.S. although these rates have, like most of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, been paused for 90 days. A 10 percent universal rate remains in place, as does a 25 percent duty on cars, a mainstay of Japan's export-reliant economy.

As Japan and the United States use different safety standards, Tokyo sees room for easing rules on crash tests as a bargaining chip in trade talks, Nikkei said citing unnamed sources.

With Trump's trade offensive roiling markets and stoking recession fears, Japan is seeking to walk back his “reciprocal” tariffs and other duties imposed on Japan, along with dozens of countries.

Trump touted “big progress” in tariff talks with Japan on Wednesday in one of the first rounds of face-to-face negotiations since his barrage of duties on global imports.

Reuters