A Reuters survey showed that nearly nine out of 10 Japanese companies expected that U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies would have a negative impact on business.
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A Reuters survey shows that U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies have negative impacts on business in nearly 9 of 10 Japanese companies.
The survey’s results show how the prospect of higher tariffs and increased trade frictions between the United States and China casts shadow on the prospects of corporate in the world’s fourth largest economy.
Japan is an ally of the United States and is also very dependent on it China As the manufacturing base and key market for its machinery and other exports.
About 86% of respondents said Trump’s policy measures will have a negative or somewhat adverse impact on their business environment, while the rest expect positive or somewhat positive impact.
In the same month Poll In December, 73% said Trump’s second term in the White House would be harmful to their business environment. Trump officially took office last month.
Of the companies that view Trump’s policy initiatives as negative, 72% chose his trading strategy – including more tariffs – as the most harmful factor, while 26% chose the United States and China The friction between them deepens.
“Tough protectionism has only negative impacts on the global economy,” a manager at an information service company wrote in the survey.
Trump has announced 25% tariff on steel and aluminum importsimposes 10% tariffs on Chinese goods and threatens Canada and Mexico with steep tariffs Keep it for 30 days.
He also directed his economic team to make plans Reciprocal tariffs In every country taxed U.S. imports and offsets non-TV barriers.
Japan does not impose tariffs on cars, but the U.S. government said in Trump’s first term that various non-TV barriers hindered access to the Japanese auto market.
Trump threatened tariffs on TuesdayNearly 25%“About automatic imports on April 2.
“If the automotive industry is hit by tariffs worldwide, it could affect semiconductor sales,” an official from an electronics company said.
Deregulation is positive
Among companies that view Trump’s policy measures as positive, 37% chose deregulation and tax cuts as the most beneficial factors, while another 37% chose his policies to help increase fossil fuels Yield.
When asked about their business operations and investment plans in the U.S., 16% said they took a more cautious stance, while 80% said they had no plans for change.
During his time First face-to-face meeting Trump prompted Japan to invest in U.S. energy and technology and seeks to resolve disputes over Japanese steel in this month’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (5401.t), open a new tab $14.9 billion bid for US steel (xn), open a new tab.
Trump says Japanese Steel Now looking for “invest rather than buy” and he is good about it. Yoshimasa Hayashi, a senior Japanese government spokesman, later said the Japanese steelmaker is considering proposing bold plans from previous approaches to seek acquisitions.
The survey was conducted by Nikkei Research for Reuters for 11 days, until February 14. Nikkei Research contacted 505 companies and responded on anonymous condition.
The impact of interest rate hikes
At Japan Bank, 61% of respondents see Recent interest rate hikes The survey shows that it is appropriate to believe that although 25% of people think this step is too early, while 15% of the steps think it is too late.
Boj raised interest rates from 0.25% in January to 0.5%, which is Japan’s reason to sustainably reach its 2% inflation target.
“The excessive weakness of the yen has led to the continuous outflow of national wealth. To stop this trend, further interest rates have risen.”
“This will prompt companies that cannot survive in a world with interest rates (which should be normal countries) to surrender or change their own companies.”
When asked about the ideal time for a next rate hike, 24% chose the July-September quarter, another 24% chose the “next year or higher”, while another 24% chose the “next year or higher”, while another 24% People show that they do not want to raise interest rates at any time.
Naoki Tamura, hawkish board member of the central bank explain This month, sheds must raise interest rates to at least 1% in the second half of the fiscal year starting in April.
About 44% of respondents said that rising interest rates to 1% would have an adverse impact on their capital expenditures, while 21% said that growth of more than 1.5% would have such impact.
“Along with the rate hike, we hope the government will expand measures to promote capital expenditures,” an official from a rubber maker said.
