Exports to the USA fell 0.9 percent in June compared with the same period a year ago due to a decline in exports of cars and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, two of Japan’s most important export products.
The decline is slight but could still raise concerns for policymakers in Japan, who worry whether the USA president will push Japan to take concrete measures to lower its trade surplus with the United States.
“Overall exports remain healthy for now, but we are not sure how things are going to turn out on the trade policy front,” said a market economist.