Relationship Has Been…”: Trump Slaps 25% Tariffs On Japan, South Korea

US President Donald Trump said Monday he was slapping 25 percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington.

Trump had said at the weekend that starting from Monday he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies that he had postponed in April.

In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, Trump said the tariffs would apply from August 1 because their trading relationships with Washington were “unfortunately, far from Reciprocal.”

Trump warned the countries, both key US allies in East Asia, of an escalation if they responded to the new US tariffs.