US President Donald Trump unveiled higher tariffs for Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries in a push for new trade deals Monday — but extended the deadline for the steeper levies to kick in until August.<\/p>\n
Trump issued similar letters to countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, saying he would slap duties on their products ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent.<\/p>\n
These mark a step up from the 10 percent levy the president earlier imposed on almost all trading partners.<\/p>\n
But the starting date of August 1 marks a delay in Trump\u2019s reimposition of higher duties, originally due Wednesday.<\/p>\n
In near-identically worded letters to Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said US tariff hikes to 25 percent came as their trading relationships with Washington were \u201cunfortunately, far from Reciprocal.\u201d<\/p>\n
He warned of further escalation if there was retaliation against the levies.<\/p>\n
But the president said he was ready to lower the new levels if partners changed their trade policies: \u201cWe will, perhaps, consider an adjustment to this letter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday that he \u201cwon\u2019t easily compromise\u201d in trade talks with Washington.<\/p>\n
Trump originally announced sweeping tariffs on world economies during what he called \u201cLiberation Day\u201d on April 2, claiming the United States was being \u201cripped off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid market turmoil, he then suspended higher duties affecting dozens of economies for 90 days, a deadline that would have expired Wednesday.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Trump signed an order formally extending the Wednesday deadline, postponing it to August 1.<\/p>\n
With the delay, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that Trump would set out the \u201creciprocal tariff rate\u201d for partners in the coming month as negotiations continue.<\/p>\n
According to letters posted to Trump\u2019s Truth Social platform, products from Indonesia will face a 32 percent tariff, while the level for Bangladesh is 35 percent and Thailand, 36 percent.<\/p>\n
Most countries receiving letters so far had duties similar or unchanged from threatened rates in April, although some like Laos and Cambodia see notably lower levels.<\/p>\n
While the Trump administration had signaled hopes of striking dozens of deals by July, there have been limited results so far.<\/p>\n
Washington has unveiled pacts with only Britain and Vietnam, while the United States and China agreed to temporarily lower tariff levels on each other\u2019s products that earlier reached three-digits.<\/p>\n
– \u2018Change their tune\u2019 –<\/p>\n
Asked why Trump opted to start with South Korea, Leavitt said: \u201cIt\u2019s the President\u2019s prerogative, and those are the countries he chose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis announcement will send a chilling message to others,\u201d said Asia Society Policy Institute Vice President Wendy Cutler, referring to Trump\u2019s initial letters to Tokyo and Seoul.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth have been close partners on economic security matters,\u201d she said, adding that companies from Japan and South Korea have made \u201csignificant manufacturing investments in the US in recent years.\u201d<\/p>\n
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that there would be more deals coming up: \u201cWe are going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of people change their tune in terms of negotiations. So my mailbox was full last night with a lot of new offers,\u201d Bessent told CNBC.<\/p>\n
He added that he would meet with his Chinese counterpart in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Both sides have so far held high-level talks in Geneva and London. But Washington and Beijing\u2019s pause on higher tit-for-tat tariffs is due to expire in mid-August.<\/p>\n
Major US stock indexes fell from records Monday on Trump\u2019s fresh threats. The Nasdaq tumbled 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 lost 0.8 percent.<\/p>\n
Trump has also threatened another 10 percent tariff on countries aligning themselves with the emerging BRICS nations, accusing them of \u201cAnti-American policies\u201d after they slammed his duties at a summit.<\/p>\n
But partners are still rushing to avert Trump\u2019s tariffs altogether.<\/p>\n
The European Commission said EU chief Ursula von der Leyen had a \u201cgood exchange\u201d with Trump on trade when the pair spoke Sunday.<\/p>\n
Source: AFP<\/p>\n
– Agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US President Donald Trump unveiled higher tariffs for Japan, South Korea and a dozen other countries in a push for new trade deals Monday — but extended the deadline for the steeper levies to kick in until August. Trump issued similar letters to countries including Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia, saying he would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n