Trump May Keep 25% Tariff On Japanese Cars – Jalopnik

Happy Monday! It’s June 30, 2025, and that is The Morning Shift, your day by day roundup of the highest automotive headlines from all over the world, in a single place. This is the place you may discover crucial tales which might be shaping the way in which Americans drive and get round.

In this morning’s version, we’re taking a look at the way forward for U.S. tariffs on Japan, in addition to some less-than-stellar indicators for Nissan’s future. We’ll additionally take a look at China’s magnet exports, in addition to a brand new NHTSA investigation into Jaguar Land Rover

Tariffs on vehicles coming into the U.S. have lengthy been threatened by the Trump administration, however their implementation has been on pause throughout a negotiation interval. Now, that interval is nearly up, and Japan does not appear to have a deal in place. From Automotive News:

President Donald Trump says time is nearly up for “Mr. Japan” to dealer a commerce deal and that he could merely dictate that the 25 % tariff on its vehicles keep put.

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“I want to send letters. That’s the end of the trade deal,” Trump stated of his plans in a July 29 interview on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. “I could send one to Japan: ‘Dear Mr. Japan, here’s the story. You’re going to pay a 25 percent tariff on your cars.'”

Trump was talking forward of the July 9 deadline for his administration’s 90-day pause on the implementation of country-specific tariffs, a set of duties separate from the automotive ones.

Setting apart absolutely the industry-crushing fallout of putting a 25% tariff on the house nation of the world’s largest automaker, do we expect the Japanese authorities has really had the President of the United States speaking to a man named “Mr. Japan” by way of these negotiations? Shigeru Ishiba is doing the precise negotiations with American officers, however perhaps they’re placing Trump on the road with a man named David Japan simply so he can really feel essential. 

Companies usually like getting paid, however additionally they like having cash. This is an actual battle for corporations like Nissan, which must pay different corporations with out really spending cash. The resolution? Pay later, to maintain money readily available now. From Reuters:

Nissan Motor has requested some suppliers to permit it to delay funds to unencumber short-term funds, based on a number of emails and an organization doc reviewed by Reuters, because the troubled Japanese automaker scrambles to spice up money.

New CEO Ivan Espinosa, who took over in April, has unveiled plans to shed round 15% of Nissan’s international workforce and shut seven crops as he targets 500 billion yen ($3.4 billion) in price cuts over the following two years.

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The transfer would enable it to have more money readily available on the shut of the April-June first quarter and follows related requests earlier than the tip of the final monetary 12 months in March, the emails confirmed.

It will not be unusual for corporations to request fee extensions from suppliers to assist unencumber money. In a press release to Reuters, Nissan stated it had incentivised a few of its suppliers to collaborate beneath extra versatile fee phrases, for free of charge to them, to assist its free money movement.

Ivan Espinosa’s tenure at Nissan to this point has felt a bit like a panic mode, relatively than the enthusiast-forward period we might hoped for. Maybe he is simply getting the home so as earlier than popping out with a brand new GT-R, or perhaps the money actually is not there for such a mission. 

Modern vehicles are stuffed with magnets. This is nice information should you’re China, which produces loads of magnets, however much less nice should you’re an automaker that is not on nice phrases with the nation. China locked down its magnet exports earlier this 12 months, however now it appears to be opening issues again up. From Automotive News China:

The menace of mass shutdowns throughout the automotive provide chain is fading as Chinese uncommon earth magnets start to movement, although automakers and suppliers say manufacturing plans nonetheless face uncertainties and a continued danger of shortages.

European suppliers have acquired sufficient licenses to keep away from the widespread disruptions predicted earlier this month however a whole lot of permits stay pending, stated Nils Poel, head of market affairs at provider affiliation CLEPA.

The charge of issuance is “accelerating” and has risen to 60 % from 25 %, he stated, however circumstances the place the tip customers are primarily based within the United States, or the place merchandise transfer by way of third international locations like India, are taking longer or not being prioritized.

The United States is not the one nation that may mission energy by way of commerce offers, although China’s strategy right here has been a bit subtler than our tariffs. Just a pleasant reminder that everybody must be on good phrases, or issues can go very downhill in a short time. 

Jaguar Land Rover has been in an odd place for the final couple years, restructuring and reimagining itself to enchantment to a brand new period of luxurious automobile consumers. While that is all been occurring within the foreground, although, the corporate’s prior vehicles have apparently been disintegrating beneath their house owners’ toes. From Reuters:

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated on Monday it has opened a preliminary analysis into 91,856 Jaguar Land Rover autos over the chance of defective entrance steering knuckles.

The auto security company acquired stories that one or each of the aluminum entrance steering knuckles, which join the entrance tires to essential elements such because the brake meeting, had fractured within the probably impacted autos.

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The analysis focuses on the 2014-2017 fashions of the Range Rover Sport manufactured by JLR’s North America unit.

This is simply an investigation, not essentially a recall, although it may flip into the latter finally. If you personal a Range Rover Sport, as I’m positive most of you expensive readers do, perhaps crawl beneath it the following time you get a minute. Make positive nothing’s cracked. 

No “One of 416 produced on a Thursday in red with the black interior and these three specific option packages” right here. 

I spent the weekend tenting off my motorbike, which suggests it is time for a vibrant summer season vibes observe. Happy Monday.