The main Asian economies, Japan and South Korea, announced on Tuesday that they would try to negotiate with the United States to mitigate the impact of considerably higher tariffs than President Donald Trump plans to impose from the beginning of August.
Trump intensified his commercial war on Monday, informing 14 countries that would face tariffs ranging from 25% for countries such as Japan and South Korea, to 40% for Laos and Myanmar.
However, by delaying the start date until August 1, a period of three weeks was created for countries to press for better conditions, while prolonging uncertainty about the terms of exchange.
Stephen Miran, president of the White House Economic Advisors Council, was optimistic about the possibility of reaching more commercial agreements before the end of the week.
“However, it is up to the other countries to make the concessions that convince the president that it is worth accepting the agreements for the United States,” they told Fox News.
Japan seeks concessions for its important automotive industry, said the main commercial negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa on Tuesday.
Akazawa said he had a 40 -minute telephone conversation with the US Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, in which both agreed to continue the negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice the Japanese agricultural sector – a powerful political pressure group at the national level – by a quick agreement.
South Korea said he plans to intensify trade negotiations in the coming weeks “to achieve a mutually beneficial result.”
When asked if the most recent deadline was firm, Trump replied on Monday: “I would say firm, but not 100% firm. If they call and say we would like to do something different, we will be open to it.”
We recommend: Trump imposes 25% tariffs from August from August
Asian markets react to the last measure of Trump tariffs
The world actions showed a moderate reaction on Tuesday, since investors calmly assimilated the last turn in the tariff saga, but the Yen depreciated the perspective of tariffs on Japanese products. Economists warned that prolonged tariff disputes could stop growth and cause a price increase, which would generate problems to political leaders.
“The constant threat of tariffs higher intensifies the risks of EU staplation and presses Europe to further drive domestic demand and thus counteract the difficulties of international trade,” said David Kohl, chief economist of the Swiss Bank Julius Baer.
After Trump’s announcement of new higher tariffs for the 14 countries, the American research group Yale Budget Lab estimates that consumers face an effective tariff rate in the US of 17.6%, compared to the previous 15.8% and the highest since 1934.
Goldman Sachs said that Monday’s measures would add 1.4 percentage points to the effective tariff rate in the US.
With Reuters information
Do you like photos and news? Follow us on our Instagram
