Toyota Europe: We will export Yaris Hybrid to USA in 2013

If the US puts up the same trade barriers to autos from Japan that Europe has, what do you think, the Japanese will go to war with us?

Your blanket statement may be right. But I don't know what it has to do with this discussion.

Hey at least you have the right numbers now. Every efficient market is helped by free trade. Autos are not in a free world wide market. You have given an example of how a european tarrif has moved manufacturing to a high cost country. Two companies on the list in 2011, VW and Ford, both benefit from trade barrriers in some countries and suffer in others. Companies must be taken on a case by case basis.

Since the Japanese market is fairly closed to imports of american cars, and North American costs for manufacturing cars are lower than Japan or Europe, it may make sense now to raise a 10% tarrif as Europe has done. Unlike the 80s where the volunary import restrictions, another non tarrif trade barrier, this tax will not hurt consumers, and volume manufacturing in segments are there already.

The EU has a 10% tarrif on US cars, and the US a 2.5% on EU cars. Since costs in the EU are this much higher, I don't see how we need to raise this now. Matching the tarrif was threatened in 2009 and 2010 as part of other trade negotiations.

Why nothing. I don't think that Japan will remove intelectual property rights of microsoft. Do you? The big bad trade barriers in the US are agricultural, and many of these should be removed. Simply treating a country the same way it is treating us is not a recipe for wholesale retribution. As I said if there are import restrictions on chinese products because of poor work conditions, that is a fine protest. Apples profit on an iphone is 20x what it pays to assemble them, it is shameful that they don't have good working conditions for employees in contract manufacturing. Apple either needs to demand working condition improvements at foxconn or find anouther manufacturing house, or bring manufacturing in house. Toyota also has been lax in some of its contract manufacturing sights. Japan has much more to lose by further closing their market.

Free trade is backed because it is right. It should help all partners. The Japanese do not establish free trade in many markets. I still have been able to sell software and machinery in Japan. It just is much more difficult. IMHO this hurts the Japanese economy.

Well tell the Japanese to open up their auto sales and repair chanels, and the EU to drop their tarrif on the US. Free trade does not mean free to export to the US, while blocking imports from the US. Again the higher tarrif in europe than the one in the US does not cause many problems because in ballance is not bad. There is more of a quid pro quo in european trade. This is not the case with Japan.

 

So which of their US subcompact manufacturing plants should Toyota use for those 6k low-margin sales per month? I expect that tariffs would just lead largely to abandoning the market with the result being a shift in sales to compacts.

 

For the prius c, the corola plant in Mississippi. This was originally supposed to be the prius plant. Setting a tarrif should be 2 years out. Clearly it cost more to design the yaris hybrid and move manufacturing to Europe, than it would have to establish prius c manufacturing in america. This looks like it has to do with the tarrifs and politics, and it may be time to play hardball.


Toyota has made noises about bringing prius manufacturing to america again, but have gone back on their word in the past. A tarrif seems like it would be effective. It is likely toyota's costs would be lower, but employment in japan would go down. This may lower the price toyota would charge for a gen IV prius. A more expensive prius would be the big downside if it doesn't work to have toyota move some production to america.

Currently all the top small cars on the list are made in North America - Civic, Cruze, Corolla, focus, elantra, jetta. Most of the subcompact sales can be here too. The sonic, fiesta, fiat 500, versa, and some other are already here, with the fit coming soon. Its not as if there are not choices. If more versas, sonics, and fits get sold instead of yarii, I'm not going to be too uspeset. More of these cars are sold today anyway.