Japan exports tack on, as US-bound shipments rally amid trade war worries

In August, Japan's export surge speeded up from July backed by firmer shipments to America, which is a sign that the worsening trade clash between America and China has yet to impact Japanese trade.

However, the soar in exports to America could potentially put the Japanese government under pressure from US leader ahead of bilateral trade negotiations anticipated later this month, as some experts point out.

Besides this, Japanese policymakers also worry about the impact on Japan’s exports because China and America dive deeper into a full-fledged trade conflict.

The Chinese government slapped $60 billion of American goods to its import tariff list, thus responding to America’s planned duties on $200 billion worth of China’s products.

In August, Japanese exports managed to surge by 6.6% from 2017, surpassing a 5.6% leap anticipated by market experts in a Reuters survey and also surpassing July’s 3.9% jump, as follows from finance ministry data uncovered on Wednesday.

Eventually, in the year to August Japan's exports to America ascended by 5.3%, which appears to be the first leap for three months. The jump was led by construction, mining machinery, and drugs.

Besides this, US-bound auto exports went down for a third straight month, drifting away from the previous year's upbeat shipments.

However, the trade data also disclosed imports from America rallied by 21.5% in August, and this surge was led by liquefied natural gas and aircraft. It reduced Japan's trade surplus with America by about 14.5% year-on-year to about 455.8 billion yen.

Japan hopes to avert abrupt duties on its car exports and reject American demands for a bilateral free trade agreement at another round of trade negotiations with America, expected to occur later this month.

In the year to August, total imports added 15.4%, which is in line with the median forecast for a 14.9% annual leap.