Article abt Japan exports. Excerpt:
Exports from the world's fourth-largest economy dropped 0.5% in June year-on-year in value terms, compared with a median market forecast for a 0.5% increase and a 1.7% decrease in May, the first decline in eight months.
Exports to the United States tumbled 11.4% in June from a year earlier, the largest monthly percentage decline since February 2021, dragged down by a 26.7% plunge in automobiles, a 15.5% fall in auto components and a 40.9% plunge in pharmaceuticals.
But the volume of automobile shipments rose 3.4%, indicating Japanese automakers are cutting prices on exported cars and absorbing tariff costs to stay competitive.
"Japanese automakers have so far kept production levels by sacrificing margins, so the tariff impact on their production activities has been limited," Koya Miyamae, senior economist at SMBC Nikko Securities, said.
But Daiwa's Akimoto said Japanese companies would be forced to raise prices eventually, as trade negotiations drag on and the yen stays relatively strong.

