April 3, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko on April 2 at a House of Representatives Financial Affairs Committee meeting brought up U.S. President Trump’s announcement of imposing a 25% tariff on imported automobiles.

Regarding what response the Japanese government should take, Tamura said that the government should tell President Trump that his act constitutes a violation of the 2019 Japan-U.S. Trade Agreement on the grounds that the summary of the bilateral pact states that no additional tariffs shall be imposed on car imports from Japan.

Furthermore, Tamura said that the Trump administration’s move to apply a 25% tariff on imported vehicles indicates the failure in the U.S.-led free trade rules and the need to establish fair rules.

Tamura pointed out that President Trump claims that America has been harmed by free trade, but in reality, it is America which has aggressively worked to liberalize trade rules in order to help U.S. large businesses pursue their profits globally. She, as an example, cited that aiming to eliminate trade barriers and promote free trade, the United States concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Mexico and Canada which are now being targeted by Trump. She said that the complaints being made by President Trump are a direct result of the so-called free competition and free trade sought by the U.S. for decades to support its big companies.

Tamura said that the need now is to build new trade rules based on each nation’s economic sovereignty. Finance Minister Kato Katsunobu in reply argued that Japan has maintained its national interests through the free and open trading system. Refuting this argument, Tamura said the existing trading system only benefits large global corporations, and added, “That’s why we call for establishing fair-trade rules.”