Trump Announced Duties For Half A Dozen Countries.
- 8.07.2025, 10:05
Including Japan, South Korea and Indonesia.
U.S. President Donald Trump has opened a new phase in the trade war by notifying partners, including key Asian exporters Japan and South Korea, as well as a number of less significant suppliers, of significant duty increases effective Aug. 1, Reuters reports (translation - The Moscow Times).
The announcement of a 25 percent import levy rate shook Wall Street, causing the S& P index to fall sharply, although markets in Asia took the news calmly.
The president said the United States would impose duties of 25 percent on goods from Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Tunisia, 30 percent on Bosnia and Herzegovina and South Africa, 32 percent on imports from Indonesia, 35 percent on Bangladesh and Serbia, 36 percent on Cambodia and Thailand, and 40 percent on products from Laos and Myanmar.
In letters sent to 14 countries, Trump hinted at the possibility of additional negotiations while warning against retaliatory measures.
"If for any reason you choose to raise your duties, any surcharge you choose will be added to the 25% we charge," Trump said, addressing Japan and South Korea in letters published on his Truth Social platform.
EU sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that the European Union would not receive a letter notifying it of the duty hikes.
The increased duties will take effect on August 1 and, remarkably, will not be combined with previously announced sectoral tariffs, such as on cars, steel and aluminum.
This means, for example, that duties on Japanese cars imported into the U.S. will remain at the current level of 25 percent, rather than rising to 50 percent, as has happened with some of the other tariffs Trump has imposed.
On Monday, Trump gave trade partners extra time by signing an executive order to move the deadline for signing trade agreements from Wednesday to Aug. 1, adding that while that date could be considered final, the administration is willing to listen to and discuss alternatives from partners.