Japan's exports to US fall as tariffs bite

Japan's exports to the United States dropped 11.1 percent in December and slipped more than four percent last year, official figures showed Thursday, as tariffs bite.

In 2025, Japan's exports to the United States fell 4.1 percent, contributing to a 12.6 percent decline in Tokyo's trade surplus with Washington to 7.5 trillion yen ($47 billion), finance ministry data showed.

A drop in the number of cars and auto parts exported, as well as rise in imports of liquified petroleum gas, cereals and power-generating machines, were primary factors in Tokyo's shrinking trade surplus with Washington, according to the data.

In December, Tokyo's exports to Washington fell 11.1 percent to 1.81 trillion yen ($11.4 billion), with the trade surplus shrinking 31.7 percent to 690.6 billion yen ($4.4 billion).

In July, Tokyo and Washington announced a trade deal lowering tariffs to 15 percent from a feared 25 percent.

Crucially, that reduction included the auto sector, an industry that accounted for 30 percent of Japanese exports to the United States in 2024.

However, Tokyo officials and business leaders have said the 15 percent tariffs are still high compared with the period before the second Trump administration.

Japan's overall trade account logged a deficit of 2.65 trillion yen in 2025, its fifth consecutive deficit.