'No change': Trump reaffirms Aug 1 tariff deadline, rules out extensions

US President Donald Trump confirms 25% tariffs on Japan, South Korea from August 1, rejecting delays. Reciprocal duties target 50+ countries as trade talks stall; retaliation warnings issued

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that his administration’s proposed “reciprocal” tariffs will take effect on August 1 as scheduled, dismissing the possibility of any delays or concessions.

 

“There has been no change to this date, and there will be no change. In other words, all money will be due and payable starting August 1, 2025 – No extensions will be granted,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.   This comes a day after he ordered a 25 per cent tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, citing persistent trade imbalances with the two crucial US allies in Asia.

 

Trump has previously described the measure as a necessary correction to what he claims are unfair trade practices against the United States. Trump, who had first announced higher “reciprocal” tariffs on over 50 countries on April 2, had initially reduced them to 10 per cent for a 90-day period to allow time for negotiations. 

  That grace period was set to end this week, but on Monday, Trump signed an executive order delaying the implementation until August 1.  

Although the US administration had initially said it would hold parallel trade talks with dozens of countries, only the UK and Vietnam have so far agreed to broad framework deals. However, many crucial terms remain unresolved. The US has also reached a temporary understanding with China to lower tariffs.

 

Despite this, Trump has made it clear that he favours going ahead with the tariffs if no deals are reached. “There will be no change,” he said last week. “The tariffs will take effect August 1.”

 

The notices sent out on Monday confirmed most of the tariffs that had previously been outlined. Japan and South Korea have been given 25 per cent tariffs, South Africa faces a 30 per cent duty, and Laos and Myanmar have both been hit with 40 per cent levies.

 

Trump also cautioned against any countermeasures from affected countries. He said, “Any retaliatory move will be matched dollar for dollar — the duties will go up by the same amount”.

Trump's tariff threat to Brics

Meanwhile, Trump also said that countries, which are part of the Brics group, would get a 10 per cent tariff rate charged on them "pretty soon". During a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House, he said, "Anybody that's in Brics is getting a 10% charge pretty soon."   During the same meeting, Trump said that the EU had been treating the US very nicely recently in trade talks. He added that he is probably two days off from sending the European Union a letter disclosing the tariff rate on their exports to the US.