US-China Trade Friction Japanese companies are accelerating the review of their production system in China on September 1 at 5:02
As trade friction between the United States and China is intensifying, Japanese companies are accelerating the move to switch production of products for the United States from China to other regions in order to reduce the burden of customs duties. .
Ricoh, a major precision equipment manufacturer, switched its production from China to Thailand for tens of thousands of multifunction devices per year exported to the United States.
The production volume in Thailand is about 10% higher than before, so the company produces products that are exported to other regions such as Japan and Europe in China.
Ricoh's Managing Executive Officer Kazuo Nishinomiya said, “We want to reduce the impact of tariffs as much as possible. Japanese manufacturers have a system that can flexibly respond to the effects of tariffs, exchange rates, disasters, etc. I think I was able to do it. "
In addition, Mitsubishi Electric has switched part of its production of semiconductors and industrial machinery that were exported to the United States from China to Japan, and Daikin Industries switched production of air conditioner compressors for the United States from China to Thailand. It was.
Because trade friction between the United States and China is in a situation where there is no sign of convergence, a flexible review of the production system is an indispensable strategy for Japanese manufacturers.
Japanese exports to China decreased
Exports to China, which accounts for approximately 20% of Japan's total exports, continue to decline due to the slowdown in the Chinese economy caused by intensifying trade friction between the United States and China.
According to the Ministry of Finance trade statistics, the export value from Japan to China in the last year was 15,087.7 billion yen, a 1.5 times increase 10 years ago.
However, the value of exports in the first half until June was 7,030.1 billion yen, a decrease of 620 billion yen compared with the same period of the previous year, a decrease of 8.2%.
The export value in July was 1,228.8 billion yen, down 9.3% from the same month last year. Looking at the export value by item in July, automobile parts decreased by 35% from the same period of the previous year to 48.3 billion yen, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment decreased by 31.5% to 71.6 billion yen.
Electronic components such as semiconductors, which are indispensable for manufacturing smartphones and personal computers, decreased 19% to 79.9 billion yen. In addition, raw materials such as synthetic rubber and oil decreased by 52.9%, and metal processing machines decreased significantly by 37.3%.
“The impact of the slowdown in China due to intensifying trade friction in the United States has led Chinese companies to refrain from capital investment and export of products to the United States.” ”Has affected the exports of Japanese companies that supply parts to China.”