Japanese automakers breathed a sigh of relief after U.S. President Donald Trump finalized a trade agreement last week. However, the relief is tempered by intensifying competition, especially from China,

U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan that lowers tariffs on auto imports and spares Tokyo from punishing new levies on other goods in exchange for a $550 billion package of U.S.-bound investment and loans.

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's leading trade negotiator said on Tuesday that the trade deal Tokyo agreed with the United States last week guarantees Japan will always receive the lowest tariff rate on chips and pharmaceuticals of all the pacts negotiated by Washington.

The U.S. and Japan have reached a trade agreement under which the longtime U.S. will face a 15% tariff—down from a previously threatened 25%—President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, as Japan’s Prime Minister hailed the move as a “new golden era” in the relationship between the two countries.

Japanese automakers received a temporary reprieve this week when U.S. President Donald Trump announced a cut to import tariffs on Japan-made vehicles, reducing the rate from 25% to 15%. But industry experts warn the move offers little comfort as Japanese brands face intensifying competition from China and structural economic hurdles at home.

Over the past few decades, Japan-based automaker Toyota has spent billions of dollars to expand its manufacturing and assembly plants in the United States. Those plants now employ over 64,000 people across North America and have churned out millions of vehicles.

FOX Business' Charles Payne joins 'Fox & Friends' to break down President Donald Trump's latest trade deals with Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The agreements have been overshadowed by U.S. firms issuing warnings about how the tariffs will impact their bottom lines and prolong uncertainty in the U.S. economy.