Japan faces 25% tariff
US President Donald Trump has announced a 25 per cent tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other nations, which will kick in from August 1.
Trump posted letters on his Truth Social website addressed to the leaders of the countries affected.
The correspondence warned them not to retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, reports AP.
“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 per cent that we charge,” Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.
The White House says the tariffs are necessary to reinvigorate US manufacturing and fund tax cuts that were signed into law this month.
Trump’s letters suggest room to negotiate as he notes the tariffs “may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your country”.
The latest rates are close to those he announced in April, such as 24 per cent on Japan and 25 per cent on South Korea, before granting a 90-day negotiating period during which goods from most countries were taxed at a baseline 10 per cent.
The negotiating period officially ends on July 9 but more talks are expected in the coming weeks as Trump is set to delay the latest official tariff increases until August 1, reports AP.
According to Trump’s letters, imported vehicles will be tariffed at a standard 25 per cent worldwide, while steel and aluminium imports face a tax of 50 per cent.
The Japanese government says it will continue to seek an agreement that is acceptable to both countries, with vehicles and parts remaining front and centre in the trade talks, reports the Japan Times.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, adds: “Imposing a 25 per cent tariff on automobiles and auto parts has been causing tremendous daily losses to Japanese companies. Frankly speaking, this is not something we can overlook.
“The automobile industry is a core industry for Japan, so unless there is an agreement between Japan and the US regarding that sector, I don’t believe it would be possible to reach an overall agreement as a complete package.”
