U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Friday ruled out any exemptions for Japan and other American allies for tariffs on automobiles set to go into effect early next month.
Asked if the measures would apply even to U.S. allies such as Japan, South Korea and Germany, Lutnick said the planned tariffs would be slapped on all countries, regardless of their relationship with the U.S., as part of President Donald Trump’s goals of returning manufacturing to the United States and slashing trade deficits.
“That would be fair, right? If you're going to tariff cars from anywhere, it's got to be tariffing cars from everywhere. That's the whole point. It's bring it home. Don't make it so that Japan has an unfair advantage over Korea or Germany or anywhere,” Lutnick said during an interview on Fox Business, adding that the U.S. buys “so many cars from Japan, from Korea, from Germany.”
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.