Japan's exports fall as U.S. tariffs stoke recession risks

Published 3 weeks ago• 1 minute read

Japan’s exports have fallen for a second month as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff campaign continued to weigh on trade, further raising the risk of a technical recession after the economy contracted at the start of the year.

Exports measured by value dropped 0.5% in June from a year earlier, led by cars and steel, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday. That missed the median analyst estimate of a 0.5% increase, and appeared to reflect the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs.

The drop in exports will continue to fuel concerns that Japan’s economy may shrink again in the second quarter, ushering in a technical recession that would add to the bad optics for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s embattled minority government. That outcome would also add to reluctance at the Bank of Japan to make its next rate hike move with the final level and likely impact of U.S. tariffs still unclear.

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