US President Trump unleashes a major trade move of 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, with official letters sent to 12 more nations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the action, effective from August. Global markets react sharply as tensions rise.
00:00President said yesterday that countries will boomerang back to the April 2nd tariff level starting August 1st.
00:06Why did the president decide to have those tariffs not take effect Wednesday as originally scheduled?
00:12And I was also wondering if you could share, obviously we saw the letters the president sent out on Japan and South Korea,
00:17but if any other major U.S. trading partners are getting letters today.
00:21Sure, yes, I can confirm. In fact, I have those letters. If you could get me the folder with the letters in them, Liz.
00:26They're right in the previous office. I have the signed letters that went out to both South Korea and Japan today.
00:32And there will be approximately 12 other countries that will receive notifications and letters directly from the president of the United States.
00:40And weeks ago, I stood at this podium and I told all of you that the president was going to create tailor made trade plans for each and every country on this planet.
00:49And that's what this administration continues to be focused on.
00:52The president will also sign an executive order today delaying the July 9th deadline to August 1st.
00:58So the reciprocal tariff rate or these new rates that will be provided in this correspondence to these foreign leaders will be going out the door within the next month or deals will be made.
01:08And those countries continue to negotiate with the United States.
01:11We've seen a lot of positive developments in the right direction.
01:15But the administration, the president and his trade team want to cut the best deals for the American people and the American worker.
01:21That's what they're focused on. And in the effort of transparency, these letters will continue to be posted to True Social.
01:27So you can enjoy them yourself. As you see, we have these beautiful letters that the president has signed.
01:32This one is to the president of the Republic of Korea, original signature on that, and these will be mailed.
01:39And then here we also have another letter to the prime minister of Japan as well.
01:45Both countries will be receiving a 25 percent tariff rate effective on August 1st.
01:50And today I want to show you some kind of rules of the populace that hasributed a new day at this time.
02:04So let's just wrap up the rules of the country and have a little bit of inclusion.
02:09So I'm going to show you some kind of rules of the country and have a little bit of choice.
02:14So I'm going to show you some of the rules of the country.
02:16I'm going to press the court for the first time.
02:48A couple more on the tariffs, you said about 12 more letters, there were about 55 or so
03:04countries including the EU as a bloc that were facing this tariff increase, all of those
03:08to understand you correctly are now deferred to August 1st, right?
03:11Correct.
03:12On the 12, what happens with the remaining whatever it would be, 40 cents?
03:15So just 12 today, there will be additional letters in the coming days.
03:18So all of them are going to get a letter at some point?
03:20Correct.
03:20Okay, and can you tell me why he decided to start with South Korea and Japan?
03:24Are they annoying him?
03:27It's the President's prerogative and those are the countries he chose.
03:31And on the sectoral tariffs, start understanding that these continue to be a separate track.
03:35We're still waiting on a bunch of them.
03:36That's right.
03:36Do you have any timing update on when he's going to move on, for instance, semiconductor
03:40tariffs and other things that are still in the hopper?
03:43I don't have a timing update, but for where they are in the process, I would defer you
03:46to the Department of Commerce.
03:47Should we expect deals finally as well?
03:49He announces the Vietnam deal.
03:50Are you close on any other country?
03:52The President and the administration, yes, we are close.
03:55But again, the President wants to ensure these are the best deals possible.
03:57And I would add just one more thing on trade and tariffs to wrap it up.
04:02Look at the extensive work this President has put in to cutting these good deals and
04:07doing what's right for the American worker.
04:09He is literally looking at the map and looking at every country on the planet and seeing where
04:14they are ripping off the American people, seeing where they have hollowed out our industrial
04:18base, seeing where our jobs have gone to other countries overseas because of their tariff
04:23policies, and he's trying to correct that.
04:25So this is decades of bad trade policy that has led to a deficit that is ravaging our
04:31country, that is ravaging our middle class.
04:32And the President is taking a very deliberate approach to correcting this wrong of many decades,
04:38of many past presidents.
04:39And so I think he should be commended for the time and the effort that he is putting into
04:44this.
04:44And the fact that he has announced a framework with China, a trade deal with the United Kingdom,
04:51a trade deal with Vietnam and many others to come in just a matter of six months is truly
04:55historic.
04:56And it's a testament to this President and his trade team who are working around the
04:59clock to get this done.
05:01First, tariffs.
05:02The President announced last night that any countries aligning themselves with the anti-American
05:07policies of BRICS will be charged with an additional 10 percent tariff.
05:11Can you tell us more details on that?
05:13What specific policies is the President talking about here?
05:16What policies do countries stay away from to avoid being subject to additional tariffs?
05:20Sure.
05:21Well, the President feels, generally speaking, that BRICS is seeking to undermine the interests
05:24of the United States.
05:26It's the President's utmost responsibility to put the interests of the United States first.
05:30That's how he views his job as President.
05:32So he's going to ensure that America is fairly treated on the world stage.
05:36And he'll take any action necessary to prevent countries from taking advantage of the United
05:40States and our people.
05:41Given the fact, this is on the trade letters, given the fact that the President put in into
05:46effect the tariffs on April 2nd and then put the pause into place, is the President at
05:53all concerned that these countries that are receiving the letters won't take them seriously
05:57because the deadline seems to have shifted already and may shift again?
06:02They will take the letters seriously because they have taken the President seriously.
06:06And that's why the President's phone, I can tell you, rings off the hook from world leaders
06:11all the time who are begging him to come to a deal.
06:16And this administration is working hard to ensure those deals are in the best interest
06:20of the American people.
06:21And this delay, again, is in the best interest of the American people.
06:25And you all will continue to see these letters released on the President's Truth Social.
06:28And we will see you all later.
06:29Thank you, guys.
06:30President, on tariffs, what happened to 90 trade deals in 90 days as President Trump
06:36President Trump?
06:37President Trump Oh, we've spoken to everybody.
06:38We know every — we — it's all done.
06:39We'll stay.
06:39President Trump We'll stay.
06:40President Trump I told you, I told you, we'll make some
06:43deals.
06:44But for the most part, we're going to send a letter.
06:45We're going to say welcome to the United States if you'd like to participate in the greatest,
06:50most successful country ever.
06:52I mean, we're doing better than ever.
06:54And we have, I don't think — and you're going to see these numbers soon.
06:59We've never had numbers like this.
07:00We've never had investment like this.
07:00We have more than 90.
07:02We're going to have much more than 90.
07:02We have more than 90. We're going to have much more than 90, but most of those are going to be sent a letter.
07:07This is exactly what I said. Now, we've made a deal with United Kingdom.
07:11We've made a deal with China. We've made a deal. We're close to making a deal with India.
07:15Others we met with, and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal.
07:18So we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay.
07:24So as far as I'm concerned, we're done.
07:27And we're sending out letters to various countries telling them how much tariffs they have to pay.
07:32Some will maybe adjust a little bit, depending if they have a cause.
07:37We're not going to be unfair about it.
07:39And actually, it's a small fraction compared to what we should be getting.
07:42We could be asking for much more.
07:45But for the sake of relationships that we've had with a lot of really good countries, we're doing the way I do it.
07:52But we could be getting a lot more. We could ask for a lot more than what we're asking for.
