Japan to import ‘the very beautiful Ford F-150’ from US

Japan will begin importing Ford’s hefty F-150 pickup trucks, US President Donald Trump said, even as uncertainty continues to cloud the trade deal between the two nations.

Under the agreement announced in July, a 15% “reciprocal” tariff will apply to Japanese imports, lower than the previously threatened 25%. These tariffs will come into force from Thursday for Japan and several other countries.

In exchange, the White House said that Japan would ease its restrictions on American vehicles, including accepting US auto safety standards.

“They’re taking our cars,” Trump said in a phone interview with CNBC on Tuesday. “They’re taking the very beautiful Ford F-150, which does very well. And I’m sure we’ll do very well there, and other things that do very well here will also do well there.”

While Japanese automakers sell millions of cars in the US each year, American vehicles are a rare sight in Japan. Ford withdrew from the Japanese market nearly ten years ago. One major hurdle is the size, American cars like the F-150 are often too large for Japan’s narrower roads, and their left-hand steering setup also poses a challenge.

Meanwhile, Tokyo and Washington still appear divided over some key aspects of the trade pact, particularly the timeline for reducing tariffs on Japanese car exports to the US.