Toyota to inform Trump of plan to import US-made vehicles to Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. is expected to inform the US government of a plan to import to Japan vehicles it produces in the United States, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday, with the company to do so when President Donald Trump visits Tokyo next week, Report informs via Kyodo.

Toyota has been weighing the option of shipping vehicles built in America to its home market in an effort to reduce the US trade deficit.

"We are considering (such imports) as one idea," Toyota chief executive Koji Sato said after a meeting of the Japan Business Federation on Wednesday.

Trump is scheduled to visit Japan for three days from Monday, and Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda is expected to attend a meeting between the US president and Japanese business leaders.

In April, the Trump administration imposed a tariff of 27.5 percent on foreign-made cars, far higher than the previous 2.5 percent, in an effort to reduce the country's massive trade deficit. The rate on vehicles from Japan was negotiated down to 15 percent in September.

In 2023, auto exports accounted for about 30 percent of Japan's total exports to the world's largest economy, the largest of any sector.

Nissan Motor Co. is also considering importing vehicles manufactured in the US market to Japan.