The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's launch of a national security investigation into imports of automobiles could result in a loss of jobs in the United States and damage its own economy.
While saying that it was "gravely concerned" about Trump's moves, Akio Toyoda, chairman of JAMA, went on to explain how consumers and the United States itself could be affected by Trump's latest protectionist push.
"It is consumers themselves who would be penalized, through increased vehicle prices and reduced model options, an event in which trade-restrictive measures were to be implemented as a result of the investigation," Toyoda said.
Concerns have been growing among automakers here as the United States is Japan's biggest export market for Japanese automakers and if Trump goes ahead with restricting vehicle imports from Japan, there's a high chance more automakers will relocate their production hubs to the United States, thus damaging the domestic market.
Toyoda highlighted the fact that Japanese car makers have contributed greatly to providing workers with jobs in the United States and to the growth of the world's largest economy. He emphasized that vehicles being imported by the United States are of no threat to the nation's national security.
"JAMA member companies today operate 24 manufacturing plants and 44 research and development or design centers in 19 U.S. states, and in 2017 nearly 3.8 million vehicles were produced by American workers at those facilities," Toyoda said.
"JAMA deems that free and fair trade and a competitive climate in line with global rules benefit consumers in the United States and strengthen the sustainable growth of the U.S. auto industry and its economy."
As for Toyota Motor specifically, along with the government, Japan's biggest automaker has blasted Washington's latest move to tighten up yet another trade loop in its march towards protectionism.
"We believe free and fair trade is the best way to create sustained growth for the auto industry and provides more choices and greater value for American consumers," Toyota said in a previous statement on the issue here recently, adding that a national security probe leading to higher tariffs is "a determination which seems implausible."
Toyota, for its part, as a heavy-hitter for the U.S. market, highlighted the fact that it has 1,500 dealers and employs 136,000 people in the United States, and the Japanese automaker plans to open its 11th U.S. manufacturing plant there soon.
The Japanese auto giant manufactured nearly 12 million cars in the United States last year, with Toyota stating that, "it has been a significant contributor to both U.S. employment and growth."
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