News from the Wire
Trump slashes tariffs on Japanese cars to 15%
Friday, September 05, 2025 — 15:56:52 (UTC)
Espoo, Lithuania, Sept. 5, 2025—Tariffs on Japanese car imports slashed from 27.5% to 15% as US President Donald Trump signs an executive order, easing uncertainty on automakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan.
The agreement, first announced in July, extends the 15% levy to nearly all Japanese exports to the US, including cars and pharmaceuticals.
In exchange, Japan will invest $550bn in US infrastructure and technology projects, commit to $8bn in annual purchases of American goods such as agricultural products, fertilisers and bioethanol, and increase imports of US-grown rice by 75%, a concession it had previously resisted to protect domestic farmers.
The White House said the deal will cut America’s trade deficit with Japan and open “breakthrough opportunities” for US businesses.
The Japanese auto industry, which depends on the US as its largest export market, had warned of heavy losses under Trump’s tariffs. Toyota alone projected a $10bn hit this year.
The Japanese economy is reliant on selling goods abroad, with the US as its biggest export market. Cars account for around 20% of the country's total exports.
Shares in Japanese carmakers and suppliers rallied in Tokyo on Friday following the announcement, signalling optimism across the automotive supply chain.
Mark McCarthy, Chief Revenue Officer at Basware, commented: "Trade wars and tariff uncertainty introduce volatility into the global economy. For major enterprises, especially those with complex supply chains or international footprints, this creates hesitation around IT spending. CIOs and CFOs may want to delay large IT investments, reassess strategic priorities and scrutinize every dollar of spend.
Organizations are working on contingencies, but in a turbulent environment, smart enterprises don't stop investing, they get more focused on their spending and look for greater ROI on every purchase. This means looking to drive even more cost efficiency, investing in areas to mitigate operational risk, accelerating automation to do more with less, and increasing agility and visibility over the tech stack.
Michael Joseph, Compliance Expert at Napier AI, commented: “Tariffs create a breeding ground for financial crime. Fluctuating tariffs, while designed to serve economic and national security objectives, have created unintended consequences. As supply chains reorganize in response, new vulnerabilities for money laundering and other financial crimes have emerged. Our research shows that money laundering and terrorist financing cost the US economy over $600 billion per year on average.”
“For compliance professionals navigating today’s increasingly complex environment, adapting financial crime risk mitigation strategies is critical. Incorporating tariff policy changes into targeted risk assessments helps identify vulnerabilities tied to high-tariff jurisdictions and to commodities susceptible to misrepresentation. It also enables compliance teams to anticipate how recent tariff shifts might alter behaviour and trading patterns. The coming years will require increased vigilance, technological innovation, and cross-border collaboration to address these emerging threats. For compliance professionals, this environment represents not just a challenge but an opportunity to demonstrate the critical value of financial crime prevention in an increasingly complex global economy.”
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Source: Company press release. 
Categories: Announcement
