Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Tuesday, July 8.
It truly looked like Japan's low-key, nonconfrontational approach to trade talks with the White House would work. This report from Reuters suggests it has failed in a spectacular fashion after President Donald Trump on Monday said Japan faces 25 percent tariffs on U.S. exports starting Aug. 1.
But will Japan's efforts really fail? After all, Japan and the Trump administration successfully negotiated for Nippon Steel's massive acquisition of the iconic U.S. Steel Corp. And, in effect, Trump gave Japan three-plus more weeks to cut a deal, along with time to absorb its parliamentary election results July 20.
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Make no mistake: Autos are the key sticking point in these trade talks. Bloomberg reports that Japan's trade surplus with the U.S. last year stood at ¥8.6 trillion ($59 billion), the fifth largest on record. The lion's share of that deficit is automotive. On his Truth Social platform, Trump pointed out the U.S. must get away from "longterm, and very persistent, Trade Deficits engendered by Japan's Tariff, and Non Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers."
As we've seen with other trade talks and other Trump negotiations, we won't know what happens with Japan — or any other key automotive trade partners — until the time comes. It's a good bet there will be plenty of drama until then.
Back in the U.S., lots of news moved on the incentive front. Ford Motor Co. is starting the third quarter with a new incentive campaign after three months of employee pricing discounts boosted its market share, Michael Martinez reports.
The automaker on July 8 said most Ford and Lincoln models now offer no-interest financing for 48 months, with no money down and no payments required for the first 90 days. The promotion runs through early September.
Plenty of other deals are out there. There are discounts as high as $10,500 and low finance rates on remaining 2024 stock, notably electric vehicles, at brands including Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Subaru and Volkswagen, Vince Bond Jr. reports today, along with our updated incentive tables.
That's it for now. Have a great rest of your day. If you want to view this story in your browser, click here.
— Philip Nussel, online editor
