The proclamation of the US government’s new tariff policy was released today. Within that document exists a clause that exempts vehicles that were manufactured over 25 years ago, by the month, from the tax increase. This is great news for Japanese mini truck fans.
The full proclamation can be found on the federal register website linked, below, which is owned by the US government:
To further corroborate this announcement, we have also confirmed the rates with our customs broker partners in the USA.
This confirms that the duty for standard passenger vehicles to the USA will be 2.5%, and cargo vehicles will be 25%. So most standard JDM imports will incur the long standing 2.5% tariff. Vehicles declared to be cargo vehicles, which most kei truck and van models fall under (Daihatsu Hijet, Suzuki Every, Suzuki Carry, Subaru Sambar, Honda Acty, Mazda Scrum, Mitsubishi Minicab) will incur a 25% duty on import. The 25% tax on trucks and cargo vehicles has been a long-standing tariff since the 1960s.
From this we can confirm that it is business as usual for kei truck imports for now. We are glad to see this exemption and hope that it will stand so that kei trucks can be enjoyed by American drivers for years to come!
If you are interested in importing a classic car from Japan or have any specific questions about importing a kei truck from Japan, please contact us today to speak with our team. We’d be happy to help you get started!
