Tariffs on Japan, Korea, 12 extra beginning Aug. 1

At the least 14 international locations’ imports are set to face steep blanket tariffs beginning Aug. 1, President Donald Trump revealed Monday.

The president, in a collection of social media posts, shared screenshots of type letters dictating new tariff charges to the leaders of Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar.

Later within the day, he shared one other set of seven letters, to the leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Serbia, Cambodia and Thailand.

Items imported to the U.S. from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Tunisia are actually set to face 25% tariffs, based on the letters Trump posted.

South African and Bosnian items can be topic to a 30% U.S. tariff, and imports from Indonesia can be hit with a 32% excise responsibility.

Bangladesh and Serbia are each at 35%, whereas Cambodia and Thailand are set for 36% tariff charges, the president’s letters mentioned.

Imports from Laos and Myanmar will face a 40% responsibility, based on the letters Trump posted on Fact Social confirmed.

The letters Trump signed add that the U.S. will “maybe” contemplate adjusting the brand new tariff ranges, “relying on our relationship together with your Nation.”

The letters are the primary to be despatched earlier than Wednesday, the day his so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of nations have been scheduled to snap again to the upper ranges he had introduced in early April.

White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned much more letters can be despatched out within the coming days.

Later Monday afternoon, Trump signed an govt order delaying the Wednesday tariff deadline till Aug. 1. The order says Trump made that call “based mostly on extra info and proposals from numerous senior officers.”

U.S. monetary markets closed down on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Common fell 422.17 factors, or 0.94%, to finish the day at 44,406.36. The S&P 500 shed 0.79% to shut at 6,229.98, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.92% and closed at 20,412.52.

For a lot of the international locations, the brand new U.S. tariff charges hew pretty carefully to what that they had confronted after Trump introduced his “liberation day” tariffs on April 2.

For example, below these preliminary charges, U.S. imports from Japan have been assigned a 24% tariff and South Korean imports confronted a 25% responsibility.

Following a chaotic week of losses throughout international markets, nevertheless, Trump on April 9 issued a 90-day pause, which lowered the varied tariff charges to a flat 10%. That pause was set to run out Wednesday, earlier than Leavitt introduced that Trump would lengthen it by greater than three weeks.

The entire letters say that the blanket tariff charges are separate from extra sector-specific duties on key product classes.

The letters additionally say, “Items transshipped to evade a better Tariff can be topic to that greater Tariff.” Transshipping on this case seems to check with the apply of transferring items to an interim nation previous to their last cargo to the U.S., with a purpose to skirt tariffs.

The shape letters assert that the brand new tariff charges are needed with a purpose to right for persistent U.S. commerce deficits with the 14 international locations.

Trump, an avowed tariff fan and a skeptic of free commerce offers, commonly factors to these deficits as proof that the U.S. is being taken benefit of by its commerce companions. Specialists have criticized the view that commerce deficits are inherently dangerous and questioned whether or not the U.S. can or ought to search to shut them.

Not the entire international locations focused Monday have giant commerce surpluses with the U.S.

Whereas the U.S. in 2024 had a $68.5 billion items deficit with Japan and a $66 billion items deficit with South Korea, its deficit with Myanmar was $579.3 million, based on the Workplace of the USA Commerce Consultant.

The U.S. is a significant purchaser of automobiles, equipment and electronics from Japan and South Korea. Kazakhstan exports crude oil and steel alloys to the U.S., Malaysia sells America digital parts, and South Africa largely sends valuable metals. Key U.S. imports from Laos embrace optical fibers, glasses and clothes, whereas Myanmar’s largest exports class is mattresses and bedding.

Monday’s letters preemptively warn the 14 international locations not to answer the brand new U.S. tariffs by imposing retaliatory duties on their very own imports of American items.

“If for any purpose you resolve to boost your Tariffs, then, regardless of the quantity you select to boost them by, can be added onto the 25% that we cost,” the letters say.

If the international locations “remove” their “Tariff, and Non Tariff, Insurance policies and Commerce Obstacles,” then the U.S. “will, maybe, contemplate an adjustment to this letter,” based on the letters.

“These tariffs could also be modified, upward or downward, relying on our relationship together with your Nation,” the letters say. “You’ll by no means be dissatisfied with America of America.”

After Trump imposed his three-month reciprocal tariff pause in April, his administration claimed that it might strike as many as 90 offers in 90 days.

However as that pause was set to run out, the U.S. has introduced solely broad frameworks with the UK and Vietnam, in addition to a preliminary settlement with China.

Trump mentioned the Vietnam deal places a 20% tariff on the nation’s imports to the U.S. and a 40% “transshipping” responsibility, whereas the U.S. would get tariff-free entry to Vietnam’s markets.

Trump’s reciprocal tariffs have been struck down in late Could by a federal district court docket, which dominated that he didn’t have the authorized authority to impose the sweeping duties below the emergency-powers legislation he had cited on the time.

The Trump administration appealed to the federal circuit, which allowed the tariffs to stay in impact whereas it critiques the decrease court docket’s determination.

— CNBC’s Nick Wells and Gabriel Cortes contributed to this report.