U.
S. President Donald Trump has announced new 25 percent tariffs on U.
S. imports from Japan and South Korea, citing trade imbalances that will take effect on August 1.
"We are We have come to the conclusion that we must move away from these long-term and very persistent trade deficits caused by[Korea's and Japan's]tariff and non-tariff policies and trade barriers[sic]," Trump said on social media on Monday, July 7.
This included screenshots of emails sent to Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
It seems that an attempt to limit cargo transshipment has become a significant factor behind the new tariffs for the two Asian economic centers. This is the practice of moving goods to an intermediate location and then to the final destination, which is usually used to avoid tariffs.
"Goods overloaded in order to avoid a higher tariff will be subject to this higher tariff," the letters posted on the Internet say. "The figure of 25% is much less than necessary to eliminate the imbalance in the trade deficit that we have with your country[sic]."
The recently announced tariffs of 25% will be applied separately from additional industry duties on key categories of goods, the letters add.
Trump also warned both countries against retaliating by raising their own tariffs.
"If for any reason you decide to raise your tariffs, then by whatever amount you decide to raise them, it will be added to the 25% we charge[sic]," Trump said.
Both South Korea and Japan are major steel exporters to the United States.
In June, South Korea and Japan exported 231,455 tons and 62,163 tons of steel to the United States, respectively, accounting for 14.81% of the total steel imported to the United States. The United States this month, according to data from the Office of International Trade.
The new tariffs on South Korea and Japan, announced on Monday, come just two days before Trump's three-month pause on reciprocal tariffs expires, so they have created confusion about what will happen with U.
S. trade relations deteriorating on July 9th.
The 90-day pause began on April 9, after the US president imposed reciprocal tariff rates on key US trading partners, with some fees reaching 50%. It was April 2, or what Trump called "Liberation Day."
Other trading partners may have received similar letters detailing the new tariffs. It is reported that on July 4, Trump told reporters that he would inform from 10 to 12 countries daily for the next five days.
"[The tariffs]range from maybe 60% or 70% to 10% and 20%,
