WASHINGTON (Kyodo) — U.S. President Donald Trump is due to impose a broad set of country-specific higher tariffs on Friday after pausing them for nearly four months to negotiate individual deals with some key trading partners, including Japan, South Korea and the European Union.
“Tomorrow, August 1, the reciprocal rates will be going into effect,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference, confirming that the pause will not be extended further.
Leavitt said countries that have not struck a trade agreement with the United States or have not received a letter with a new tariff rate will be informed by the deadline.
Trump announced sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2, targeting dozens of countries with which the United States runs trade deficits, before pausing them for 90 days to create time for negotiations.
The Trump administration later extended the pause to Aug. 1 amid little progress in its talks with major trading partners. But it managed to clinch trade deals with some of them in the last couple weeks.
Last week, the administration reached a trade deal with Japan under which Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariff rate for the country was lowered to 15 percent from 25 percent in return for Tokyo committing to massive investment in the United States in the coming years.
As Japan promised to buy more energy and farm products from the United States, the agreement also resulted in Japanese autos being subject to a 15 percent tariff, down from the whopping 27.5 percent rate that took effect in April.
After Japan, the United States struck similar deals with the European Union and South Korea, with each securing tariff rates of 15 percent for the reciprocal and auto tariffs.
Although there will be no further delay in implementing country-specific tariffs, the administration has decided to grant several exceptions.
On Thursday, Trump said he will continue with the current 25 percent tariff on some Mexican goods imported to the United States for 90 days, avoiding the higher 30 percent tariff that he has threatened while the two countries negotiate during the period.
With China, the United States has a different 90-day tariff truce that is set to expire Aug. 12. In May, the two countries suspended most of the hefty tariffs levied on each other’s goods for that duration.
Trump could extend the pause as early as this week following trade talks between senior U.S. and Chinese officials in Stockholm.
