Japan defends Toyota's contribution in U.S. against Trump's tariff threat

Japanese officials on Friday defended Japanese automakers' contribution in the United States in response to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's threat against Japanese top automaker's plan to build a new plant in Mexico.

"Toyota Motor said will build a new plant in Baja, Mexico, to build Corolla cars for U.S. NO WAY! Build plant in U.S. or pay big border tax," Trump said in a post on Twitter on Thursday.

Trump's threat came following President of Toyota Motor Corporation Akio Toyoda said here earlier Thursday that his company has no immediate plans to reconsider its envisaged production in Mexico.

In April 2015, the carmaker announced that it would spend 1 billion U.S. dollars to build a plant in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. With an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles, the new plant is expected to start operating in 2019 and employ around 2,000 workers.

"Japanese automakers are making significant contributions in terms of jobs in the United States. It is important that their efforts and results are accepted widely," said Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko here on Friday.

Though it is an issue of a private company, the Japanese government is set to support it, said the minister.

Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, Japanese government top spokesman, also defended Japanese automakers' contribution in the United States by saying that "Toyota has been aiming to be a good corporate citizen for the United States."

Toyota, in response to Trump's tweet, said it looks forward to collaborating with the Trump administration to serve in the best interests of consumers and the automotive industry with more than 21.9 billion dollars direct investment in the world's largest economy, 10 manufacturing facilities, 1,500 dealerships and 136,000 employees. Endit