Countries launch retaliatory tariffs against the United States, and Japan applies for exemption

US President Trump has announced tariff increases one after another, and countries are increasingly active in introducing “retaliatory tariffs”. Although Japan has provisions in the Tariff Rate Law, it lacks relevant legislation that can implement tariffs independently. Japan takes a cautious attitude towards retaliation itself.

If a partner country takes unfair measures against export products, Japan can respond according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, Japan’s retaliatory tariff system is that if the WTO finds a violation, tariffs can be imposed within the same amount.

In this case, it is necessary to review it in a small committee (expert group) equivalent to the first instance of the WTO dispute settlement process. If you are dissatisfied with the result, you can appeal to the high-level committee of the second instance. However, due to opposition from the United States, the selection process of the high-level committee members has been stalled, and it has fallen into dysfunction when vacancies occur.

Trump signed an executive order to apply an additional 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum products. A 10% tariff is imposed on all imports from China. On the other hand, countries responded immediately by announcing retaliatory tariffs, etc., in accordance with their own laws.

For example, China announced that it would impose tariffs of up to 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) imported from the United States. On February 11, European Union President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement saying that “resolute corresponding countermeasures” would be taken against unfair tariffs, indicating that she would not hesitate to impose retaliatory tariffs.

On the other hand, the Japanese government is not only cautious about retaliatory tariffs, but also cautious about filing a lawsuit with the WTO. Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoshiharu Muto said on the 12th that he had asked the US government to exclude Japanese products from the additional tariffs.

Muto did not make a clear statement on whether he would request the complete cancellation of the additional tariffs in accordance with WTO rules. When Trump imposed tariffs on steel and other products during his first presidential term, the EU filed a lawsuit with the WTO, but Japan did not.

In recent years, China has also put increasing economic pressure on Japan, including the initiation of export management of graphite used in pure electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the ban on Japanese aquatic products.