Trump to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea

WASHINGTON AP President Donald Trump on Monday placed a tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea citing persistent commerce imbalances with the two crucial U S allies in Asia Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on Aug by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of both countries The letters warned both countries to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes or else the Trump administration would further increase tariffs If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs then whatever the number you choose to raise them by will be added onto the that we charge Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung The letters were not the final word from Trump on tariffs so much as another episode in a global economic drama in which the U S president has placed himself at the center His moves have raised fears that economic increase will slow to a muddle if not make the U S and other nations more vulnerable to a recession But Trump is confident that tariffs are necessary to bring back domestic manufacturing and fund the tax cuts he signed into law last Friday White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained at the daily news briefing that similar letters to a dozen countries would be issued on Monday Following a now well-worn pattern Trump plans to continue sharing the letters sent to his counterparts on social media and then mail them the documents The letters are not negotiated settlements but Trump s own choice on rates a sign that the closed-door talks with foreign delegations failed to produce satisfactory results for either side Leavitt mentioned that Trump was by setting the rates himself creating tailor-made exchange plans for each and every country on this planet and that s what this administration continues to be focused on The S P stock index was down nearly in Monday afternoon trading while the interest charged on the -year U S Treasury noted had increased to nearly a figure that could translate into elevated rates for mortgages and auto loans Trump has declared an economic crisis to unilaterally impose the taxes suggesting they are remedies for past agreement deficits even though numerous U S consumers have come to value autos electronics and other goods from Japan and South Korea But it s unclear what he gains strategically against China another stated reason for the tariffs by challenging two crucial partners in Asia who could counter China s economic heft These tariffs may be modified upward or downward depending on our relationship with your Country Trump wrote in both letters Because the new tariff rates go into effect in roughly three weeks Trump is setting up a period of possibly tempestuous talks among the U S and its bargain partners to reach new frameworks Trump initially sparked hysteria in the financial markets by announcing tariff rates on dozens of countries including on Japan and on South Korea In order to calm the markets Trump unveiled a -day negotiating period during which goods from largest part countries were taxed at a baseline The -day negotiating period technically ends before Wednesday even as multiple administration bureaucrats suggested the three-week period before implementation is akin to overtime for additional talks that could change the rates Administration executives have explained Trump is relying on tariff revenues to help offset the tax cuts he signed into law on July a move that could shift a greater share of the federal tax burden onto the middle class and poor as importers would likely pass along much of the cost of the tariffs Trump has warned major retailers such as Walmart to solely eat the higher costs instead of increasing prices in strategies that could intensify inflation Trump s squad promised deals in days but his negotiations so far have produced only two deal frameworks His transaction framework with Vietnam was clearly designed to box out China from routing its America-bound goods through that country by doubling the tariff charged on Vietnamese imports on anything traded transnationally The quotas in the United Kingdom framework would spare that nation from the higher tariff rates being charged on steel aluminum and autos still British goods would generally face a tariff The United States ran a billion commerce imbalance in goods with Japan in and a billion imbalance with South Korea according to the Census Bureau According to Trump s letters autos would be tariffed separately at the standard worldwide while steel and aluminum imports would be taxed on The broader rates on Japan and South Korea would apply to goods not already covered by the specific sectoral tariffs This is not the first time that Trump has tangled with Japan and South Korea on deal and the new tariffs suggest his past deals made during his first term failed to deliver on his administration s own hype In during Trump s first term his administration celebrated a revamped contract agreement with South Korea as a major win And in Trump signed a limited agreement with Japan on agricultural products and digital contract that at the time he called a huge supremacy for America s farmers ranchers and growers Trump has also disclosed on social media that countries aligned with the initiative goals of BRICS an organization composed of Brazil Russia India China South Africa Egypt Ethiopia Indonesia Iran and the United Arab Emirates would face additional tariffs of Source