As President Barack Obama prepares to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House Friday, the head of Ford's operations in North and South America is calling on Obama to put pressure on Japan to open its auto market and refrain from weakening the yen in order to give Japanese companies a competitive advantage, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Joe Hinrichs, Ford's president of the Americas, said less than four percent of auto sales in Japan last year were non-Japanese auto brands, the article stated. Ford is concerned about the value of the yen, which has lost about 8 percent against the dollar since Abe took office on Dec. 26.
"We hope the U.S. government will send a clear message that any future trade policy with Japan must ensure a level playing field and not come at the expense of American workers," Hinrichs said to a crowd of workers at Ford's Brook Park, Ohio, factory, according to the article.
Only a few hundred Ford vehicles are sold in Japan each month, the Free Press reported.
"Our workers and our businesses should not be disadvantaged by governments intervening in currencies," Hinrichs said, according to the report. "Today, we don't feel our sales are being affected by this, but we're concerned about what the long-term ramifications are."
Auto sales are expected to be strong in February and Ford is reportedly expected to exceed the industrywide gain.
Prime Minister Abe is in Washington to discuss a possible free trade pact, consult with Obama on the North Korean nuclear threat and the ongoing dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku islands, which lie between the two Asian countries shores.
The Obama administration did not address Ford's call to pressure the Japanese to open its markets to American autos.
According to the Free Press, the yen trades at about 93 to the dollar and has weakened more than any currency since mid-November. The yen traded as high as 120 to the dollar in 2007, but has since declined, slipping below 80 to the dollar for a time last year.
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