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Following a 90-day pause, President Trump is resuming his trade war by threatening to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea starting next month.
On Truth Social, Trump posted the official letters he sent to the three countries notifying them about the 25% tariffs, which take effect on Aug. 1. "Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from Reciprocal,” the president wrote in the letters, which cite the need for balanced trade.
The 25% duty also applies to Japanese, Malaysian, and South Korean imports that have been “transshipped” or rerouted through other countries to evade the tariffs. “If for any reason you decide to raise your Tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by will be added onto the 25% that we charge,” Trump also noted.
The US imposed a 10% duty on many countries during the 90-day pause, so an increase to 25% is raising concern about price increases for consumer electronics. For example, Malaysia is home to a chip-packaging factory for AMD. It's unclear if semiconductors are exempt from this new round of tariffs.
In separate letters, Trump says Laos and Myanmar will face a 40% tariff while South Africa can expect a 30% tariff, similar to what the president first threatened to impose in April.
Last week, Trump announced a deal with Vietnam to increase its tariff rate to 20%, which is sparking fears that Nintendo will need to raise the price of the Switch 2 since the console is manufactured in the country. In addition, the same deal calls for a 40% tariff on any goods transshipped through Vietnam, which is expected to ensnare numerous imports from China.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNN that many other countries are facing tariff rates that’ll “boomerang” back into effect, starting on Aug. 1, if they fail to reach a deal with the Trump administration. “So I think we’ll see a lot of deals very quickly,” he added. (In April, White House trade advisor Peter Navarro predicted "90 deals in 90 days," but the administration has fallen far short of that goal.)
So, consumers might consider buying now, rather than waiting, especially if Trump’s tariffs clamp down on India, Cambodia, and Taiwan, which are home to manufacturing for the iPhone, Switch 2, and various PC components.
(As it happens, Amazon's four-day Prime Day kicks off on July 8 with deals on laptops, Apple products, TVs, and more.)
As for Japan and South Korea, the countries each made up about 4% of electronics imports to the US, according to a 2021 survey from the US International Trade Commission. In contrast, China was responsible for a 33% share while Mexico came in second at 16.6%. The Trump administration is currently placing a 30% tariff on Chinese imports, although the two countries recently reached a vague trade deal.