The Trump administration has just announced plans to impose new import tariffs, ranging from 25% to 40%, on goods from 14 different countries. This policy will take effect from August 1, 2025 and mark a new strong step in the US's protectionist trade strategy.
In an official notice sent to relevant countries, Mr. Trump stated that the reason for the high tariffs is to deal with the persistent trade deficit and policies that the US believes are disadvantageous to its exports.
According to the plan, Japan and South Korea are the first two countries to receive the notice, with a 25% tax rate applied to products exported to the US market. Other countries also subject to the tax include Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan (25%); South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina (30%); Serbia and Bangladesh (35%); Cambodia and Thailand (36%); and Laos and Myanmar (40%).
Notably, these tariffs will not be cumulative with previous tariffs already applied to certain sectors such as automobiles, steel or aluminum. This means that import tariffs on automobiles from Japan will remain at 25%, instead of increasing under the new tariff schedule.
In addition to imposing tariffs, President Trump also sent a message to trading partners, encouraging them to move their production chains to the US to avoid tariff barriers and take advantage of the domestic market. At the same time, he also warned that if these countries retaliate by increasing tariffs on US goods, Washington may continue to raise tariffs even higher in the future.
