President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on goods imported from South Korea and Japan. The levy will go into effect on August 1st, which is when the Trump administration will begin enforcing sweeping tariffs on a wider swath of countries that fail to reach a trade agreement with the US.
The US was set to begin imposing its “Liberation Day” tariffs on countries around the world on April 2nd, but Trump extended the deadline by 90 days, which is coming up on July 9th. But now, it seems that the deadline will be pushed further, as Trump begins sending out tariff-related letters to several countries, starting with South Korea and Japan.
In a pair of posts on Truth Social, Trump shared nearly identical letters addressed to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The letters say that the US will impose a 25 percent tariff on “any and all” products imported from both countries starting August 1st to correct a “trade deficit” with the US.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Dana Bash, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said if countries don’t reach a deal with the US by August, tariffs will “boomerang” back to their April 2nd level. He also said August 1st is “not a new deadline.” “We are saying, ‘This is when it’s happening. If you want to speed things up, have at it. If you want to back to the old rate, that’s your choice.’”
Trump’s letters state that “there will be no tariff” if Japan and South Korea — or the companies based there — “decide to build or manufacture product within the United States.” He adds that the US will raise tariffs if the countries respond with higher fees of their own.
