Trump announces 25% tariffs on Korea, Japan

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Trump announces 25% tariffs on Korea, Japan

Published: 08 Jul. 2025, 02:36 Updated: 08 Jul. 2025, 02:54

MICHAEL LEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington D.C. on May 23. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a sweeping 25 percent tariff on all goods imported from Korea and Japan, citing what he described as enduring trade imbalances with both countries.

The tariffs, set to take effect on Aug. 1, were unveiled in separate letters addressed to Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, which Trump posted on his preferred social media website, Truth Social.

In his letter to Lee, Trump said “goods transshipped to evade a higher tariff will be subject to that higher tariff.”

He also warned Korea against retaliatory measures, threatening further tariff increases should Seoul respond with duties of their own.

Trump claimed that the 25 percent hike is “far less than what is needed to eliminate the trade deficit disparity we have with your country.”

In his letters, Trump said autos would be tariffed separately at the standard 25 percent worldwide, while steel and aluminum imports would be taxed on 50 percent.

However, he noted that the new tariffs would not apply to Korean companies if they “decide to build or manufacture product within the United States,” adding that his administration “will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely – in other words, in a matter of weeks.”

Trump’s letters to Lee and Ishiba reflect his oft-repeated desire to impose levies on even longtime U.S. allies to reduce what he has described as “unfair trade deficits.”

However, critics noted that the move risks straining relations with two of Washington’s most critical economic and strategic partners in Asia, both of which are seen as bulwarks against China’s expanding regional influence.

“These tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country,” Trump said, leaving open the possibility of further changes.

An earlier, broader tariff proposal by Trump triggered severe volatility in global financial markets. In response, the Trump administration issued a temporary 90-day negotiating window, during which most nations faced a reduced 10 percent tariff, offering room for bilateral deals.

That window is set to close this week, but administration officials have indicated that the three-week period before the new tariffs take effect could serve as an informal extension of talks.

Whether such discussions will yield revisions remains uncertain.

Trump has argued that tariff revenues will help offset the cost of the sweeping tax cuts he signed into law on July 4. However, economists have said that the burden of those tariffs is likely to fall disproportionately on American consumers, particularly low- and middle-income households, as importers pass on higher costs.

The latest trade actions are part of a broader effort by Trump to reshape Washington’s global trading relationships.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States recorded a $66 billion trade deficit with Korea and a $69.4 billion trade imbalance with Japan in 2024.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]