By Anita Hamilton, Liz Moyer, and Brian Swint
President Donald Trump sent letters to the leaders of more than a dozen countries, including Japan and South Korea, with new tariff rates on their goods that are shipped to the U.S.
The rates start at 25% for Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia, then rise to as high as 40% for Laos and Myanmar.
Most rates are the same as announced on " Liberation Day" on April 2, but some are notably lower. For example, Cambodia's dropped to 36% from 49%, while rates for both Laos and Myanmar fell to 40% from 48% and 44%, respectively.
Trump will also issue an executive order that will extend the previous July 9 deadline for all trade deals to Aug. 1, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. "It's an acknowledgement that this administration is doing what's best for the American worker," she said.
In letters posted to his social media account, the Trump administration said it would be imposing the levies starting Aug. 1, and the taxes would apply to "any and all" imports from the countries, separate from tariffs on specific sectors.
Steel and aluminum tariffs, currently set at a 50% rate as part of the Section 232 sectoral rates, will remain in place but will not stack on top of the new rates. A number of other sectoral tariffs are also under investigation but have not yet taken effect.
If the countries raise their tariffs on U.S. goods, that amount would be added to the U.S. tariffs, the letters said. "Please understand that these Tariffs are necessary," the substantially similar letters say.
"What President Trump is concerned about is the quality of the deals, not the quantity," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.
Bessent also shed more light on the letters that Trump plans to send to other countries. "They're pretty standard letters," Bessent said. "It's just thank you for wanting to trade with the United States of America. We welcome you as a trading partner, and here's the rate, unless you want to come back and try to negotiate."
Trump said over the long weekend that countries that didn't strike a trade deal with the U.S. would face tariffs as high as 70% starting in August. "I signed some letters and they'll go out on Monday, probably 12," he told reporters aboard Air Force One late Thursday night. He added Sunday night that the letters will be delivered starting at noon Eastern time today.
After Trump put the so-called reciprocal tariffs on hold for 90 days in April, only a few deals have been announced, including a temporary framework with China and pacts with the United Kingdom and Vietnam. Since then, the initial July 9 start for those tariffs has been pushed back to Aug. 1.
U.S. Threatens Countries Siding With Brics With Additional Tariffs
President Trump warned over the weekend that countries choosing to align with the "Anti-American" policies of the Brics group of countries will face an extra 10% tariff. They include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and more recently South Africa. They now include 11 countries that have a relatively low level of economic and industrial development.
His threat against countries siding with Brics is another layer of uncertainty when it comes to global trade.
The latest meeting took place over the weekend in Brazil. The joint statement published Sunday criticized Trump's trade policy, saying, "We voice serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade." It also condemned the Israeli and U.S. strikes against Iran.
"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff," Trump posted at about 10 p.m. Eastern Time Sunday on his Truth Social site. "There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Brics originated as a way to talk about emerging economies that, by virtue of their large populations, have the potential to grow rapidly and eventually become world heavyweights. That led these countries, as well as others, including Indonesia and Iran, to take on the moniker themselves. While not a formal bloc, they have held regular summits to discuss ways to work with each other.
China Says Brics Nations Aren't Seeking a Confrontation
China, which doesn't yet have a trade deal but has agreed to a framework with the Trump administration, tried to defuse tensions on Monday. It said that the Brics nations aren't seeking a confrontation with the U.S.
"China has repeatedly stated its position that trade and tariff wars have no winners and protectionism offers no way forward," said Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry.
Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com and Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 07, 2025 17:22 ET (21:22 GMT)
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