President Donald Trump upped his tariff war again Monday, slapping a 25% tax on goods from Japan and South Korea and announcing new tariffs on five other countries.
The taxes on Japan and South Korea, along with tariffs on Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar, would go into effect on Aug. 1.
Trump notified the various entities with letters posted to his social media site, Truth Social. Those letters, reported by a variety of media outlets, also warned leaders of those countries not to retaliate and threatening further tariff hikes if they do.
“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,” Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
Imports from Malaysia would be taxed at 25%, Myanmar at 40%, Laos at 40%, South Africa at 30% and Kazakhstan at 25%. 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.
The Associated Press reported that Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute who formerly worked in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, called the tariff increases on Japan and South Korea “unfortunate.”
“Both have been close partners on economic security matters and have a lot to offer the United States on priority matters like shipbuilding, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy cooperation,” Cutler said, according to the AP. “Moreover, companies from both countries have made significant manufacturing investments in the U.S. in recent years, bringing high-paying jobs to U.S. workers and benefiting communities all around the country.”
