TOKYO, June 29 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government said on Friday that it stands opposed to any U.S. trade tariffs that are not in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, warning that such tariffs on the auto industry would devastate the global economy.
Such automobile tariffs, if introduced, could "seriously affect more than 1.5 million jobs created by Japanese auto-related companies in the United States and by inflicting costs on the consumers, lead to devastating effects on the U.S. and global economy," the government said.
The Japanese government made clear in its comments to the U.S. Commerce Department that the tariffs would also be of great "detriment to the global free trade system."
The U.S. government has launched a probe into whether the imports of cars and autoparts would be a threat to the nation's national security.
According to local media reports, U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to impose tariffs as high as 25 percent on automobile-related imports and following the higher tariffs imposed on steel and aluminum imports.
"It is hard to find the need to regulate consumer automobiles for the purpose of national security," the Japanese government said.
In doing so, the government also highlighted the fact that vehicles designed and used for consumers are an entirely different category than those used for military purposes.
According to Japan's top automaker Toyota Motor Corp., if the increased tariffs were to be imposed, the costs would simply be passed on tax-paying U.S. consumers, with Toyota stating that all notions of automotive imports being a threat to U.S. national security should be rejected.