Tariffs, and their potential detrimental impacts on vehicle affordability, company profits, global competitiveness, and new-car demand, have hung over the entire auto sector, including GM, for months. Coming into Thursday trading, GM stock was down 1% since the Nov. 5 election, 11 percentage points behind the S&P 500.

BIG NEWS!  The U.S. and Japan have reached a trade agreement that will reduce tariffs on Japanese vehicles and auto parts to 15 percent-down from the 25 percent rate that was set to take

The trade deal with Japan is also giving investors hope that there could be similar reductions on tariffs for vehicles imported from other countries—including trade agreements that would benefit U.S.

TOKYO--General Motors thinks Japan is ready for an American-brand small car and is banking on the Chevrolet Aveo, its first small-car entry in half a decade in Japan, to help boost sales here this ...