'Far from reciprocal': Trump slaps 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea ahead of July 9 trade deadline
Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on August 1 by posting near-identically worded letters on Truth Social addressed to the Japanese and South Korean leaders, stating 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. But he also said he was ready to modify levies "downwards" if Japan and South Korea changed their trade policies.
The US President has been talking for a while about ending trade negotiations and sending out letters informing countries about their tariff rates. On Friday, he told reporters that 'I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12.' (Two have been released so far.)
The letters, issued on White House stationary, have Trump's typical flourishes and capitalization.
'We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World, by far,' he wrote to the leaders of South Korea and Japan. He ends both of the letters by saying, 'Thank you for your attention to this matter!'
Over the past week the administration is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before the Wednesday deadline.
That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America's trading partners, and questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether Trump will once more push off imposing the rates.
Trump and his top trade advisers say he could extend the time for dealmaking but they insist the administration is applying maximum pressure on other nations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
18 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Battle-hardened Wall Street bulls are proving very hard to scare
Wall Street's tolerance for shock is becoming heroic. ADVERTISEMENT First came the inflation angst, then the tariff crash, then the war in the Middle East. At this point, it's hard to imagine what could still rattle the investor class. Speculative spirits were on display again this week, even as President Donald Trump escalated threats against major trading partners, including a 35% tariff on Canadian goods and a 50% levy on copper. Bitcoin surged past $118,000, bond volatility fizzled, stocks held near records and retail traders unleashed risky wagers anew. It's a form of investor resilience, built by facing down threats and emerging stronger — where even the prospect of a renewed US-led trade conflict gets brushed aside, in favor of bullish bets across the board. JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon has a different word for it: complacency. But for traders sitting on fattening profits in crypto, tech, leveraged ETFs, commodities and beyond, it's feeling like vindication. 'We absolutely believe the recent bullish price action in risk assets makes sense,' said Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC. 'Bear in mind this is no longer just equities but spreading across virtually all risk assets. So if anything, we'd argue investors are once again under-exposed and continue to fight the rally.' ADVERTISEMENT Traders are getting harder to frighten even as measures that presaged past market stress climb. A global trade policy uncertainty index tracked by Bloomberg is rising, just as it did in the months before April's global market meltdown. The S&P 500 closed Friday marginally below its record. Risk premiums tracking US corporate bonds hovered around their lowest level of the year. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds continued to see inflows. Volatility receded, with a gauge of US Treasury swings hitting its lowest level in nearly 3 1/2 years as measures of stocks. Oil and gold turbulence remained subdued. ADVERTISEMENT And yet, Trump warned this week that new and higher rates will kick in Aug. 1, unless countries negotiate better terms. The announcement of a 35% tariff on some Canadian goods came the same day the S&P 500 hit its all-time high.'The market has consistently shrugged off any issues, including tariffs, and even the brief conflict between Israel and Iran,' said Josh Kutin, head of multi-asset solutions, North America at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. 'If the market is not overall responding negatively to any of those issues, I have a hard time seeing how that happens in the near-term.' ADVERTISEMENT Kutin says the administration's habit of backing off when markets react badly to trade policies keeps him calm — and on the lookout for tactical opportunities to add equity exposure. Indicators across several portfolios continue to flash bullish signals, he says, driven by strong momentum and relatively low volatility. And while acknowledging the current state can feel 'toppy,' he believes the rally has room to run. The view reflects an increasingly common bet across Wall Street, known as the 'TACO' trade, for Trump Always Chickens Out. The wager is that either the administration will walk back its tariff threats, or the upshot of the offensive simply won't be enough to derail the expanding US economy. Whatever the reasoning, bullishness is prevailing. ADVERTISEMENT Trump took to social media this week to celebrate record highs in tech and industrial stocks, as well as an unstoppable crypto runup that sent Bitcoin soaring to $118,000. That market confidence — forged in an environment that has repeatedly punished skeptics — has made some investment pros queasy.'People are getting a little bit too comfortable with this idea that Trump's always going to back down,' said David Lebovitz, the global strategist of multi-asset solutions at JPMorgan Asset Management. 'We've gone from a world where nobody knew anything to everybody knows something. It's almost like the market's going to go through this stress test where they see how far they can push it until they begin to see those cracks.'Complacency was also invoked by his boss, JPMorgan's Dimon, as stocks hit record highs amid the deluge of tariff news this week. He said a trade framework with Europe still 'needs to get done,' and that the Federal Reserve is far more likely to raise interest rates than is generally believed in markets.'The rally has gone way too far,' said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. 'The tariff situation is far from resolved. It's absolutely difficult for investors to model this out, so it's easier to ignore it than think about the consequences.'Hooper advises reallocating to equity markets that offer better diversification and more attractive valuations — including Europe, the UK and even China.'I'm a sober realist,' Hooper said. 'We have valuations that are at historically high levels. And so when stocks are priced at a near perfection, it's a lot easier for disappointment to occur.'Despite concerns over potentially stretched valuations and mixed economic signals, bulls say it's a mistake to get in the way of markets rolling with this much momentum. Kettner, for his part, believes the US exceptionalism will continue as he ratchets up HSBC's overweight, particularly to US equities. This week's erratic tariff announcements may end up being a bullish catalyst if walked back, he says. With a weaker dollar and lowered earnings expectations, the upcoming reporting season could provide further support for equities. 'We also strongly disagree with the idea of complacency,' he said. 'Equities and risk assets are well positioned to climb the wall of worries further in the coming weeks.'
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
US energy department to gut funding for solar and wind projects
The Energy Department plans to eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for major renewable and efficiency projects this year, the latest move by the Trump administration to undo efforts to shift the nation away from fossil fuels. The cuts, which would take money away from projects budgeted for the fiscal year that ends September 30, focus on solar and wind projects, as well as state and local assistance for low-income families, according to an Energy Department document reviewed by The New York Times and Democratic lawmakers in Washington. Critics argue that the moves are illegal because Congress had previously approved the funding for specific projects. In a joint statement about the funding changes, ranking Democrats on the Senate and House energy subcommittees called it a "reckless decision" and demanded the agency immediately reverse its action. They argued that the moves would harm efforts to strengthen US energy independence and drive up costs for all consumers. "This outrageous, unlawful decision by the Trump administration is a direct attack on our energy independence and American families' ability to afford their monthly energy bill," wrote Sen. Patty Murray , D-Wash., and Rep. Marcy Kaptur , D-Ohio. "This isn't a bureaucratic misstep - it's a deliberate, partisan effort to sabotage bipartisan law and redirect funding." In response to inquiries about the cuts, an Energy Department spokesperson said in a statement that the agency is working to "instill a culture of transparence, performance and common sense." "The Department of Energy is working to advance its critical mission of unleashing affordable, reliable and secure energy for all Americans while increasing efficiency and promoting better stewardship of taxpayer dollars," the spokesperson said. The new funding levels "help ensure that the Department accomplishes its critical mission for the American people." The changes would cut up to 90 per cent of the funding from the two fastest growing renewable energy technologies, according to the document, which details planned budget appropriations. Cuts include reducing money for wind power projects to about $30 million from $137 million, and solar power to about $42 million from $318 million. In addition, the plan cuts nearly all of the money from state and local government community energy programs, which help reduce heating and cooling costs and assist with services like home energy audits and increasing insulation in homes. The Trump administration has targeted solar and wind power and energy efficiency programs for funding cuts in its push to reshape the nation's energy future. The administration has emphasized broader use of fossil fuels, including natural gas for electricity and oil for transportation. That strategy also calls for rolling back emissions standards to encourage more use of oil and gas - a major reversal of the Biden administration's policies to reduce carbon emissions and encourage the use of clean energy technologies such as solar and wind power, and electric vehicles. This year, the Energy Department said that it would roll back energy and water conservation standards for a long list of electric and gas appliances. The Environmental Protection Agency is shutting down the popular Energy Star program. The shift away from the clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives could lead to a dramatic increase in costs for all consumers. Solar and onshore wind power are among the least expensive sources of electricity. And energy efficient appliances have helped keep residential electric bills a bit in check. But extreme weather events, driven by climate change, are driving up energy costs as utility companies invest in long-overdue upgrades to the aging power system. And electricity demand has grown in recent years because of energy-hungry data centers that technology companies are using to support the development of artificial intelligence. That growth in demand and the need for increased power supply and storage has created challenges in the reliability of the electric grid. "Solar and storage is the fastest - and in most cases the cheapest - way to meet the skyrocketing demand from AI, data centers, and American innovation," Abigail Ross Hopper , CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association , said in response to the planned cuts. "In the race to ensure global AI leadership and energy independence at home, we should be focused on getting every electron that we can generate on the grid." Solar and wind power have become more readily available to meet some of those needs, along with battery storage. But a lack of supply of massive turbines - used to generate electricity from natural gas - has slowed the construction of new fossil fuel generators, and hopes for new nuclear power plants remain far into the future. Some of the money designated for solar and wind power in the budget has been redistributed to other clean energy resources, such as hydroelectric power and geothermal energy, but those also are expensive to build and can take years to bring online. That has left critics of the cuts questioning the strategy the Trump administration is using at a time of grid constraints and rising costs. The nationwide average cost for the typical 1,000 kilowatt-hours of use by a residential consumer rose almost 4 per cent to $175 a month in April compared to the same time a year ago, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. That has added an even greater burden on those who can least afford the higher costs, who now face cuts to programs like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the community energy assistance dollars. "Both of these programs are incredibly important for affordability," said Mark Toney , executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a California organization that helps low-income energy consumers. "Zeroing out the state community energy programs will directly harm low-income families."
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
David Gergen dies at 83: Former advisor to US Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton; private burial planned in Massachusetts
David Gregen, an American political commentator who worked for four American presidents and spent decades in government, academia, and media has died at the age of 83 on Thursday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Gergen served in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Bill Clinton. Over the years, he worked as a speechwriter, communications director and presidential counselor, among other roles. According to Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein, Gergen died after a prolong illness. Hannah Riley Bowles, a former co-director of the school's Center for Public Leadership praised him saying that he devoted decades of his life to serving those who sought to serve. 'David was a principled leader of unmatched character, integrity and kindness, who chose to see goodness in every person he met,' Riley Bowles said. Former vice-president Al Gore who served during US President Bill Clinton's tenure also paid tribute, writing on X: 'Of the countless ways that David Gergen contributed to our great country, what I will remember him for most was his kindness to everyone he worked with, his sound judgment, and his devotion to doing good in the world.' Gergen was born in North Carolina and graduated from Yale University and Harvard Law School. According to Harvard Kennedy School, he received 27 honorary degrees over the course of his career. He also founded the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and remained there as professor of public service emeritus until his death. After serving in the US Navy in the 1960s, Gergen began his White House career in 1971 as a speechwriting assistant for President Nixon. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Colleagues described him as a champion of bipartisanship and collaboration throughout his career. He also became well known as a senior political analyst for CNN. In his 2022 book, Hearts Touched with Fire: How Great Leaders are Made, Gergen wrote: 'Our greatest leaders have emerged from both good times and, more often, challenging ones. … The very finest among them make the difficult calls, that can ultimately alter the course of history.' A private burial is scheduled for Monday at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Massachusetts. A larger memorial service at Harvard will be held in the coming weeks confirmed Mark Douglass, director of Douglass Funeral Home in Lexington, Massachusetts.
