Ford, GM, and Stellantis hate the Japan trade deal that the White House calls a “historic win for American automakers”

The White House is calling its trade deal with Japan “a historic win for American automakers.” American automakers would beg to differ.

A trade group representing Ford, GM, and Stellantis criticized the agreement, which sets tariffs on auto imports from Japan at 15%. (Levies on auto imports from Canada and Mexico remain 25%.)

Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, said that the group is still in the process of reviewing the deal but that “any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no US content than the tariff imposed on North American built vehicles with high US content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers.”

The US auto industry was similarly frustrated back in May, when the Trump administration struck a deal that lowered the tariff rate on UK vehicles to 10%.

Japanese automakers have largely eaten the brunt of President Trump’s tariffs in order to avoid raising prices in the US market. That strategy appears to have paid off for them.