Japan, South Korea and Donald Trump
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President Trump said the U.S. will impose steep levies on imports from 20 countries starting next month, raising pressure on trading partners.
Trump’s new tariff letters have sent shockwaves across global markets as he targets 22 countries with tough new trade threats just weeks before the August 1 deadline. From close allies like Japan and South Korea to BRICS nations like Brazil and South Africa,
“Other countries routinely use tariffs to advance their foreign policy and national security interests, and President Trump is committed to using every tool at his disposal—including access to the American economy, the world’s biggest and best consumer market—to put Americans and America First,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.
The yen, for its part, has been steadily weakening as the prospects dim for a U.S.-Japan trade deal. The dollar was up 0.6% on Friday at 147.12 yen and is headed for a weekly gain of 1.7%, the biggest this year. On the crosses, the yen is down for a seventh straight week on the euro and hit a five-month low on the Australian dollar .
The president revived his discredited claims about fentanyl entering the U.S. from Canada to justify his latest proposed rate of 35 percent.
President Donald Trump is threatening to impose higher tariffs on Japanese exports to the United States over what he claims is the country’s unwillingness to buy American-grown rice.