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U.S. automakers worry that President Donald Trump’s agreement to tariff Japanese vehicles at 15% would put them at a competitive disadvantage, saying they will face steeper import taxes on steel, aluminum and parts than their competitors.“We need to review all the details of the agreement, but this is a deal that will charge lower tariffs on Japanese autos with no U.S. content,” said Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents the Big 3 American automakers, General Motors, Ford and Jeep-maker Stellantis.Blunt said in an interview the U.S. companies and workers “definitely are at a disadvantage” because they face a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tariff on parts and finished vehicles, with some exceptions for products covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that went into effect in 2020.The domestic automaker reaction reveals the challenge of enforcing policies across the world economy, showing that for all of Trump’s promises there can be genuine tradeoffs from policy choices that risk serious blowback in politically important states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, where automaking is both a source of income and of identity.The United Auto Workers said in a statement it was “deeply angered” by the deal. “A better deal would have held Japanese automakers to the same standards U.S. workers have fought for at GM, Ford, and Stellantis,” the UAW said.“If this becomes the blueprint for trade with Europe or South Korea, it will be a major missed opportunity,” the union added. “We need trade deals that raise standards not reward the race to the bottom. This deal does the opposite.”Trump portrayed the trade framework as a major win after announcing it on Tuesday, saying it would add hundreds of thousands of jobs to the U.S. economy and open the Japanese economy in ways that could close a persistent trade imbalance. The agreement includes a 15% tariff that replaces the 25% import tax the Republican president had threatened to charge starting on Aug. 1. Japan would also put together $550 billion to invest in U.S. projects at the “direction” of the president, the White House said.The framework with Japan will remove regulations that prevent American vehicles from being sold in that country, the White House has said, adding that it would be possible for vehicles built in Detroit to be shipped directly to Japan and ready to be sold.But Blunt said that foreign auto producers, including the U.S., Europe and South Korea, have just a 6% share in Japan, raising skepticism that simply having the open market that the Trump administration says will exist in that country will be sufficient.“Tough nut to crack, and I’d be very surprised if we see any meaningful market penetration in Japan,” Blunt said.Asked at Wednesday’s briefing about whether Trump’s sectoral tariffs such as those on autos were now subject to possible change, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the issue had been going through the Commerce Department.The framework with Japan was also an indication that some nations simply saw it as preferential to have a set tariff rate rather than be whipsawed by Trump’s changes on import taxes since April. But for the moment, both Japan and the United Kingdom with its quotas on auto exports might enjoy a competitive edge in the U.S.“With this agreement in place it provides Japan with a near-term operating cost advantage compared to other foreign automakers, and even some domestic U.S. product that uses a high degree of both foreign production and parts content,” said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “It will be interesting to see if this is the first domino to fall in a series of foreign countries that decide long-term stability is more important that short term disputes over specific tariff rates.”Autos Drive America, an organization that represents major Japanese companies Toyota, Honda and Nissan and other international automakers, said in a statement that it is “encouraged” by the announced trade framework and noted its members have exceeded domestic automaker production for the past two years.The statement urged “the Trump administration to swiftly reach similar agreements with other allies and partners, especially the European Union, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.”The Japanese framework could give automakers and other countries grounds for pushing for changes in the Trump administration’s tariffs regime. The president has previously said that he values flexibility in negotiating import taxes. The USMCA is up for review next year.Ford, GM and Stellantis do “have every right to be upset,” said Sam Fiorani, vice president at consultancy AutoForecast Solutions. But “Honda, Toyota, and Nissan still import vehicles from Mexico and Canada, where the current levels of tariffs can be higher than those applied to Japanese imports. Most of the high-volume models from Japanese brands are already produced in North America.”Fiorani noted that among the few exceptions are the Toyota 4Runner, the Mazda CX-5 and the Subaru Forester, but most of the other imports fill niches that are too small to warrant production in the U.S.“There will be negotiations between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, and it will probably result in tariffs no higher than 15%,” Fiorani added, “but nobody seems to be in a hurry to negotiate around the last Trump administration’s free trade agreement.” St. John contributed from Detroit. Josh Boak and Alex St. John, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
You landed a job interview: Youve researched the company, reread the job listing, and practiced your talking points. But have you considered the importance of choosing the right time of day to interview? According to new research, when you interview might impact how well you do. In a study analyzing the timing and performance of Italian students in oral interviewswhich are required to pass many classes at Italian universitiesresearchers found that the time of day had a big impact on students likelihood of success. Researchers believe the study could shed light on successes and failures in other high-pressure situations, like job interviews. Researchers utilized a University of Messina database of interview-style exam results from October 2018 to February 2020. Data from more than 100,000 exams revealed that the rate of students who passed followed a bell curve that peaked between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and was much lower in the early morning and late afternoon. The research was inspired by a study that found judges are more lenient in their sentencing at the beginning of the court session or after meal breaks, says Carmelo Vicario, a neuroscientist at the University of Messina and lead author of the new study. After seeing the data on judicial rulings, Vicario says he was interested in discovering whether the same principle might apply to other fields, including education. This was, of course, a completely different field, Vicario tells Fast Company. But we found this similarity. Since the study analyzes existing data, rather than data from controlled trials, Vicario says he isnt able to confirm exactly why the middle of the day seems to be when students are most successful. Still, the researchers have a number of theories. For starters, since younger people tend to be night owls and older people tend to prefer the morning, the middle of the day might help mitigate the clash between these chronotypes, or biological rhythms that impact how alert people are throughout the day. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. could be a middle ground when both students and their professors are in their prime. This same mismatch between chronotypes could contribute to the difference in interview success during the hiring process for young workers being interviewed by more senior employees, adding to the bias that an estimated 36% have against Gen Z candidates, according to a recent ResumeBuilder survey. More than 80 genes regulate the circadian rhythms behind different chronotypes, and people consistently operating outside the hours that work with their circadian rhythm can experience issues with productivity, as well as health problems and work-related anxiety. To help overcome bias related to the time of day, experts have a few tips that can be applied to everything from exams to job interviews and beyond, such as offering flexible meeting hours and scheduling collaboration when both parties have high energy levels. By recognizing biological differences in how and when people work bestand making room for that diversityleaders can reduce hidden bias, unlock untapped potential, and build more productive and inclusive teams, Camilla Kring, a researcher who studies applied chronology, wrote in a recent article for Fast Company. Still, authors of the new study note that more research is needed to determine whether mismatched chronotypes are the hidden force behind varying interview success. Even this is a speculative interpretation, Vicario says, noting his hope that this work will inspire future research that helps to pin down exactly why interviews in the middle of the day tend to go better. Vicario also hopes people will consider researching the impact of timing on decision-making in other high-pressure situations. When theres a kind of pressure, the influence of the time of the day can be stronger compared to when you have a large amount of time to evaluate the details of the situation, Vicario says. Being aware [of timings impact] can make decisions fairer.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump is visiting the Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington Thursday, a week after indicating that Fed chair Jerome Powell’s handling of an extensive renovation project on two Fed buildings could be grounds for firing.Trump has criticized Powell for months because the chair has kept the short-term interest rate the Fed controls at 4.3% this year, after cutting it three times last year. Powell says the Fed wants to see how the economy responds to Trump’s sweeping tariffs on imports, which Powell says could push up inflation.Powell’s caution has infuriated Trump, who has demanded the Fed cut borrowing costs to spur the economy and reduce the interest rates the federal government pays on its debt.The Fed has been renovating its Washington headquarters and a neighboring building. With some of the construction occurring underground and as building materials have soared in price after inflation spiked in 2021 and 2022, the estimated cost has ballooned to about $2.5 billion, from $1.9 billion.When asked last week if the costly rebuilding could be grounds to fire Powell, Trump said, “I think it is.”“When you spend $2.5 billion on, really, a renovation, I think it’s really disgraceful,” Trump said.Firing Powell would threaten the Fed’s independence, which has long been supported by most economists and Wall Street investors.
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E-Commerce
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