Photo credit: Alex Brandon, AP
The Detroit News
July 23, 2025
Grant Schwab and Breana Noble
President Donald Trump’s trade deal with Japan is causing domestic automakers and the United Auto Workers to raise concerns about facing a competitive disadvantage against their foreign-owned rivals.
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Glenn Stevens, executive director of MichAuto, the automotive arm of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said the industry should not “overreact” to the Japan deal. “We just have to remember this is a long process. All these trade negotiations, they take time to play out,” he said in a phone interview.
“Until other negotiations are completed and things shake out, yeah, it would appear that it does put other OEMs bringing vehicles into the United States — including the Detroit Three — at a disadvantage,” Stevens added. “But if that’s the case, and I just don’t see this president letting that affect American workers long-term. It just goes against what he stands for.”
Stevens also highlighted the potential boon to U.S. automakers from being able to export vehicles more easily to Japan. The country exported about 1.4 million passenger vehicles to the United States last year while importing less than 17,000, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce.