Trump announces 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea
The tariffs are set to go into effect on August 1.
Mr Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries.
US President Donald Trump waves to the media after exiting Air Force One (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
The letters warned them 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 25% that we charge,' Mr 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 Mr Trump on tariffs, so much as another episode in a global economic drama in which he has placed himself at the centre.
His moves have raised fears that economic growth would slow to a trickle, if not make the US and other nations more vulnerable to a recession.
But Mr Trump is confident that tariffs are necessary to bring back domestic manufacturing and fund the tax cuts he signed into law last Friday.
He mixed his sense of aggression with a willingness to still negotiate, signalling the likelihood that the drama and uncertainty would continue and that few things are ever final with Mr Trump.
Imports from Myanmar and Laos would be taxed at 40%, South Africa at 30% and Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Tunisia at 25%.
Shoppers browse electric rice cookers imported from Japan and South Korea at a US department store (Nam Y Huh/AP)
Mr Trump placed the word 'only' before revealing the rate in his letters to the foreign leaders, implying that he was being generous with his tariffs.
Mr Trump still has outstanding differences on trade with the European Union and India, among other trading partners.
Tougher talks with China are on a longer time horizon in which imports from that nation are being taxed at 55%.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Trump, Netanyahu meet a second time as gaps narrow in ceasefire talks
US President Donald Trump met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Mr Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal. The Israeli leader departed the White House after just over an hour's meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office, with no press access. The two men also met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday during Mr Netanyahu's third US visit since the president began his second term. Mr Netanyahu earlier met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol, and is due back in Congress later today to meet with US Senate leaders. The Israeli leader told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire. "We still have to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Mr Netanyahu said. Shortly after Mr Netanyahu spoke, Mr Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week. "We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Mr Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Mr Trump's Cabinet. A delegation from Qatar, which has been hosting indirect talks between Israeli negotiators and the Hamas Palestinian militant group, met with senior White House officials for several hours before Mr Netanyahu's arrival, Axios reported, citing a source familiar with the details. The White House had no immediate comment on the report. The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates. Mr Trump had strongly supported Mr Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticising prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Mr Netanyahu denies. In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Mr Netanyahu praised the Republican, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country's history.
Irish Times
4 hours ago
- Irish Times
President Trump and the peace prize
Sir, – I turned on the radio this morning to hear a voice telling me that Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu had nominated US President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. I wondered which comedian had come up with this line, but to my amazement, this was the news. I would have laughed, except that I was crying. – Yours, etc, DR TERESA GRAHAM, Tramore, READ MORE Co Waterford.
The Irish Sun
4 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Macron offers to loan Bayeux Tapestry to Britain AGAIN as he's accused of trying to stitch us up on migration
FRANCE'S President Emmanuel Macron has again offered to loan the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain — but was accused of trying to stitch us up on migration. 2 People look at the 'Bayeux tapestry' or 'Queen Mathilde tapestry' which relates Britain's conquest by William the Conqueror Credit: AFP 2 The Bayeux tapestry depicts the events of the Norman Conquest Credit: AP But Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned last night: 'Thanks for the Bayeux Tapestry but don't even think about trying to stitch us up for more migration cash.' Experts believe the tapestry was made in England following William the Conqueror's 1066 invasion and shipped to Normandy. Mr Macron had agreed to loan it to us in 2018, although it never materialised. The deal came as the President and wife They later joined the King and Queen for a procession in Windsor town centre. But the tapestry announcement has been eclipsed by crunch talks on the Channel migrant crisis, which are going right down to the wire before a summit between Mr Macron and Sir Keir this week. A deal is expected to confirm new French tactics of That arrangement is likely to centre on small boat migrants being returned to France in exchange for asylum-seekers who have family in the UK. Most read in The Sun The deal has provoked a fresh row over cash, with Mr Macron expected to demand more money on top of the Despite the costs to taxpayers mounting as crossings reached a record rate this year, No10 has refused to rule out stumping up more cash for the French. Migrant camps brace for impact as UK-France deal fuels crossings Yesterday, Mr Macron said illegal migration had become a burden for both Britain and France and promised 'tangible results'. Addressing Parliament, he said: 'The hope for better life elsewhere is legitimate. 'But we cannot allow our rules for taking in people to be flouted by criminal networks cynically exploiting the hopes of so many individuals.' He promised the 'best ever cooperation between our two countries in order to fix today, what is a burden for our two countries'. But the Euro-fanatic President — who could not resist branding Brexit as 'deeply regrettable' — insisted that only continental-wide cooperation would stop the people-smuggling gangs. Last night, Gabriel, 17, from He told The Sun: 'It's not safe for us here. I will do anything to get out. Macron won't stop us. 'He has done nothing and doesn't care about us.' Read more on the Irish Sun His pal, Jarang, 19, said: 'If Macron makes a deal with England, it will only make us more desperate to arrive before it is put in place.' President Macron and the PM meet today.
