TOKYO, April 9 – Nissan Motor Co. is considering moving some of the production at one of its plants in southwestern Japan to the United States to mitigate the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, local authorities said Tuesday.
The automaker plans to reduce output of the Rogue sport utility vehicle built at one of its two plants in Fukuoka Prefecture for export and increase its U.S. production, according to the prefecture, Kyodo news agency reported.
The automaker told the prefectural government that it intends to maintain the current production facilities despite the planned production cut, Vice Gov. Masaru Eguchi told reporters.
The move comes on the back of Trump introducing an additional 25 percent levy on all automobiles produced outside the United States earlier this month in a bid to bring more jobs to the world’s biggest economy.
Meanwhile, Nissan plans to ramp up production of the Patrol sport utility vehicle, a model particularly popular in the Middle East and Australia, at its other plant in Fukuoka, the prefecture said.
