Another baffling move from Trump, and yet the only thing he seems to be accomplishing is his own undoing

Donald Trump announced on Monday that the United States plans to put a 25% tax on goods brought in from South Korea and Japan, starting August 1.

This is part of a larger threat to place high taxes on imports from twelve more countries by next month. The first announcement came in the form of identical letters posted on his Truth Social media platform, sent to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. According to CBS, these new taxes line up with the planned end of a 90-day pause on special U.S. tariffs for many countries, including Japan and South Korea, which was supposed to expire on July 9.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Trump is expected to sign an order extending the July 9 tariff pause, moving the new deadline to August 1. This delay is meant to give time for these new “reciprocal” tax rates to be officially shared with foreign leaders in the next month. Leavitt also said that more tariff letters would be sent to around twelve other countries, with the President planning to post these notices on Truth Social.

Trump is still going to tariff friendly countries

Later on Monday, President Trump shared different tax rates for twelve other trading partners. Myanmar and Laos will face the highest new taxes at 40%. Thailand and Cambodia could see taxes of 36%, while Bangladesh and Serbia would have slightly lower rates at 35%. Indonesia is being singled out with a possible 32% tax. Imports from South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina will have a 30% tax starting August 1, and goods from Malaysia, Kazakhstan, and Tunisia will be taxed at 25%.

The 25% taxes on South Korea and Japan match the “reciprocal” rates Trump first announced on April 2. At that time, the administration said it would put taxes of 24% and 25% on imports from Japan and South Korea, respectively. Paul Ashworth, the chief North America economist at Capital Economics, estimated that if none of the fourteen targeted countries make a preliminary trade deal and if the taxes are not delayed further, the average tax rate on U.S. imports would rise from 15.5% to 17.3%. For comparison, the average tax rate on imports in 2024 was 2.5%.

Things will only get worse it seems, as even judges calling tariffs unconstitutional isn’t enough to stop them. Trade policy expert Barry Appleton, co-director of the Center for International Law at New York Law School, said Monday’s announcements show that the U.S. is “making them pay full admission price to access the U.S. market.” Appleton explained that a 25% tax, while tough, still allows trade with Japan and South Korea to happen.

He noted that this rate was set deliberately high, turning trade with the U.S. into a “pay to play” situation for these countries and possibly others in the future. Appleton also suggested that these country-specific taxes are not a good sign for other nations, including those in the European Union, Canada, and Switzerland, that are trying to make new trade deals with the U.S.