On the 7th local time, US President Trump sent a letter to 14 countries including Japan, South Korea and South Africa threatening to impose tariffs. Subsequently, he signed an executive order to extend the so-called "reciprocal tariff" suspension period, postponing the implementation time from July 9 to August 1.

For three months, the United States has negotiated with multiple trading partners on the imposition of so-called "reciprocal tariffs", but the progress has been significantly slower than the US expected. At present, trade agreements have only been reached with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, but the details of the agreement are still to be finalized. Negotiations with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, India, etc. are progressing with difficulty.

Trump publicly sent letters to 14 countries threatening to impose tariffs

On the 7th local time, US President Trump announced that he would impose tariffs on imports from 14 countries from August 1:

Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Tunisia: 25%

Bosnia and Herzegovina, South Africa: 30%

Indonesia: 32%

Bangladesh, Serbia: 35%

Cambodia, Thailand: 36%

Laos, Myanmar: 40%

Source: IC Photo

Trump: If tariffs on the United States are raised, the same amount will be added

Trump posted his letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung on the "Real Social" website he founded that day. In these two letters with almost identical content, Trump wrote: "Please understand that the figure of 25% is far below the level required to eliminate the trade deficit between us and your country."

Trump warned that if Japan and South Korea respond by raising tariffs, the United States will also increase tariffs by the same amount on the basis of 25%.

Trump said that the trade deficit has posed a major threat to the US economy and even national security, so changes must be made. This tariff will be independent of various industry tariffs. In addition, any attempt to circumvent the tariff by transshipping through a third country will also be subject to higher tariffs. Trump said that companies that choose to build factories or produce products in the United States do not have to pay this tariff. If these countries decide to increase tariffs on the United States, the United States will add tariffs of the same magnitude on the basis of the existing tariff rate.

US officials frequently put pressure

Over the past weekend, senior US officials including Finance Minister Bessant frequently expressed their views, on the one hand, pressuring trading partners to speed up negotiations, and on the other hand, hinting that countries that failed to reach an agreement as scheduled could choose to extend the negotiation deadline.

In an interview with CNN on the 6th, Bessant said that for countries that failed to reach a trade agreement with the United States before August 1, the tariff rate will return to the "reciprocal tariff" level announced in April.

Bessant refused to confirm to the media whether August 1 was the latest deadline at the time, saying "If you want to speed up, then do it."

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The progress of tariff negotiations is significantly slower than expected

South Africa

South African President Ramaphosa said on the 7th that South Africa will continue to promote a more balanced and reciprocal trade relationship with the United States through diplomatic channels. South Africa noted that the US government promised that the 30% tariff rate will be adjusted according to the results of the negotiations between the two sides.

European Union

European Commission President von der Leyen said recently that the EU is "ready to reach a principled agreement with the United States" on tariffs. But if the negotiations fail, the EU will resolutely take countermeasures to protect the European economy.

Japan

Japan and the United States have held multiple rounds of negotiations, but no breakthrough has been made. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on the 6th that Japan is prepared for all possible tariff situations and will "stand firm" to defend its own interests.

South Korea

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said on the 3rd that the negotiations with the United States seem very difficult, and both sides are not very sure "what they want." He said that it is uncertain whether the negotiations can be completed before July 8.

Lee Jae-myung also said that he will do his best to reach an agreement with the United States and make every effort to achieve a pragmatic and win-win result centered on South Korea's national interests in the negotiations.

India

India announced that it has notified the World Trade Organization that it plans to impose retaliatory tariffs on some US products in response to the US's measures to impose tariffs on automobiles and parts imported from India.

Vietnam

Su Lin, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, recently suggested that the US recognize Vietnam's market economy status as soon as possible and lift US export restrictions on some high-tech products to Vietnam.

US media: high tariffs will be paid by American consumers

According to data released by the US Department of Commerce, the United States imported a total of $351 billion worth of goods from seven of the countries to which Trump sent letters last year. Japan and South Korea, as the sixth and seventh largest trading partners of the United States, exported a total of $280 billion worth of goods to the United States last year.

US media analyzed that raising tariffs on goods will cause American consumers to pay higher prices. The main goods imported by the United States from South Korea and Japan include automobiles, auto parts, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and machinery. The Trump administration has imposed or threatened to impose industry-specific tariffs on many of these goods.

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Some countries are one of the main sources of certain specific goods.

For example, South Africa will face a 30% tariff, while about half of the platinum imported by the United States last year came from South Africa. Last year, Malaysia was the second largest source of semiconductors imported by the United States, and the United States purchased semiconductors worth $18 billion from Malaysia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 400 points in response

After US President Trump sent letters to many countries on the 7th, stating that new tariffs would be imposed on imported goods, the US stock market closed down that day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 422.17 points, a drop of 0.94%, the S&P 500 closed down 0.79%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.92%.

At present, market concerns are increasing. Investors are worried that if the trade war heats up again, the chaos of the financial market crash earlier this year may reappear.