The United States will officially impose a 15% tariff on Japanese products starting August 1st, according to Kenichi Hirouchi, the Executive Director of the Kanagawa Institute for Economic Research in Japan. He stated that the U.S. tariff measures could lead to a decrease of about 0.5% in Japan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Kenichi Hirouchi, Executive Director of the Kanagawa Institute for Economic Research in Japan: The mainstream view is that the U.S. tariff policy will cause a drop in Japan’s GDP by about 0.5%. Although these effects have not yet become apparent, I believe that they will gradually be reflected in the figures starting this autumn.
“U.S. Tariff Policy Violates World Trade Principles”
Hirouchi expressed that the current actions of the U.S. are in violation of the basic principles of the World Trade Organization. If countries around the world adopt unilateralism and protectionism, it will exacerbate the fragmentation of the global economic system.
Kenichi Hirouchi, Executive Director of the Kanagawa Institute for Economic Research in Japan: Based on the current situation, the actions of the U.S. indeed violate the basic principles of the World Trade Organization. Fundamentally, this is trade protectionism, aimed at protecting one’s own country through extreme protectionist policies. If all countries in the world follow this path, the global economy may fall into a divided state. In that case, not only would there be no growth, but also a recession, which is very concerning.