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Trump to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, new import taxes on 12 other nations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a signed letter on tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (REUTERS)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a signed letter on tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 7, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 08 July 2025

Trump to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, new import taxes on 12 other nations.

Trump to put 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, new import taxes on 12 other nations.
  • Trump has also said on social media that countries aligned with the policy goals of BRICS, an organization composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE, would face additional tariffs of 10 percent

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday set a 25 percent tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on a dozen other nations that would go into effect on Aug. 1.

Trump provided notice by posting letters on Truth Social that were addressed to the leaders of the various countries. The letters warned them to not retaliate by increasing their own import taxes, or else the Trump administration would further increase 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 percent that we charge,” Trump wrote in the letters to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung.

The letters were not the final word from Trump on tariffs, so much as another episode in a global economic drama in which he has placed himself at the center. His moves have raised fears that economic growth would slow to a trickle, if not make the US and other nations more vulnerable to a recession. But Trump is confident that tariffs are necessary to bring back domestic manufacturing and fund the tax cuts he signed into law last Friday.

He mixed his sense of aggression with a willingness to still negotiate, signaling the likelihood that the drama and uncertainty would continue and that few things are ever final with Trump.

Imports from Myanmar and Laos would be taxed at 40 percent, Cambodia and Thailand at 36 percent, Serbia and Bangladesh at 35 percent, Indonesia at 32 percent, South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina at 30 percent and Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Tunisia at 25 percent.

Trump placed the word “only” before revealing the rate in his letters to the foreign leaders, implying that he was being generous with his tariffs. But the letters generally followed a standard format, so much so that the one to Bosnia and Herzegovina initially addressed its woman leader, Zeljka Cvijanovic, as “Mr. President.” Trump later posted a corrected letter.

Trade talks have yet to deliver several deals

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump was by setting the rates himself creating “tailor-made trade plans for each and every country on this planet and that’s what this administration continues to be focused on.”

Following a now well-worn pattern, Trump plans to continue sharing the letters sent to his counterparts on social media and then mail them the documents, a stark departure from the more formal practices of all his predecessors when negotiating trade agreements.

The letters are not agreed-to settlements but Trump’s own choice on rates, a sign that the closed-door talks with foreign delegations failed to produce satisfactory results for either side.

Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute who formerly worked in the office of the US Trade Representative, said the tariff hikes on Japan and South Korea were “unfortunate.”

“Both have been close partners on economic security matters and have a lot to offer the United States on priority matters like shipbuilding, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy cooperation,” Cutler said.

Trump still has outstanding differences on trade with the European Union and India, among other trading partners. Tougher talks with China are on a longer time horizon in which imports from that nation are being taxed at 55 percent.

The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that the tariff rates announced by Trump mischaracterized the trade relationship with the US, but it would “continue with its diplomatic efforts toward a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States” after having proposed a trade framework on May 20.

Higher tariffs prompt market worries, more uncertainty ahead

The S&P 500 stock index was down 0.8 percent in Monday trading, while the interest charged on 10-year US Treasury notes had increased to nearly 4.39 percent, a figure that could translate into elevated rates for mortgages and auto loans.

Trump has declared an economic emergency to unilaterally impose the taxes, suggesting they are remedies for past trade deficits even though many US consumers have come to value autos, electronics and other goods from Japan and South Korea. The constitution grants Congress the power to levy tariffs under normal circumstances, though tariffs can also result from executive branch investigations regarding national security risks.

Trump’s ability to impose tariffs through an economic emergency is under legal challenge, with the administration appealing a May ruling by the US Court of International Trade that said the president exceeded his authority.

It’s unclear what he gains strategically against China — another stated reason for the tariffs — by challenging two crucial partners in Asia, Japan and South Korea, that could counter China’s economic heft.

“These tariffs may be modified, upward or downward, depending on our relationship with your Country,” Trump wrote in both letters.

Because the new tariff rates go into effect in roughly three weeks, Trump is setting up a period of possibly tempestuous talks among the US and its trade partners to reach new frameworks.

“I don’t see a huge escalation or a walk back — it’s just more of the same,” said Scott Lincicome, a vice president at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank

Trump initially roiled the financial markets by announcing tariff rates on dozens of countries, including 24 percent on Japan and 25 percent on South Korea. In order to calm the markets, Trump unveiled a 90-day negotiating period during which goods from most countries were taxed at a baseline 10 percent. So far, the rates in the letters sent by Trump either match his April 2 tariffs or are generally close to them.

The 90-day negotiating period technically ends on Wednesday, even as multiple administration officials suggested the three-week period before implementation is akin to overtime for additional talks that could change the rates. Trump plans to sign an executive order on Monday to delay the official tariff increases until Aug. 1, Leavitt said.

Congressionally approved Trade agreements historically have sometimes taken years to negotiate because of the complexity.

Administration officials have said Trump is relying on tariff revenues to help offset the tax cuts he signed into law on July 4, a move that could shift a greater share of the federal tax burden onto the middle class and poor as importers would likely pass along much of the cost of the tariffs. Trump has warned major retailers such as Walmart to simply “eat” the higher costs, instead of increasing prices in ways that could intensify inflation.

Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at The Atlantic Council, said that a three-week delay in imposing the tariffs was unlikely sufficient for meaningful talks to take place.

“I take it as a signal that he is serious about most of these tariffs and it’s not all a negotiating posture,” Lipsky said.

Trade gaps persist, more tariff hikes are possible

Trump’s team promised 90 deals in 90 days, but his negotiations so far have produced only two trade frameworks.

His outline of a deal with Vietnam was clearly designed to box out China from routing its America-bound goods through that country, by doubling the 20 percent tariff charged on Vietnamese imports on anything traded transnationally.

The quotas in the signed United Kingdom framework would spare that nation from the higher tariff rates being charged on steel, aluminum and autos, though British goods would generally face a 10 percent tariff.

The United States ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance in goods with Japan in 2024 and a $66 billion imbalance with South Korea, according to the Census Bureau. The trade deficits are the differences between what the US exports to a country relative to what it imports.

According to Trump’s letters, autos would be tariffed separately at the standard 25 percent worldwide, while steel and aluminum imports would be taxed on 50 percent.

This is not the first time that Trump has tangled with Japan and South Korea on trade — and the new tariffs suggest his past deals made during his first term failed to deliver on his administration’s own hype.

In 2018, during Trump’s first term, his administration celebrated a revamped trade agreement with South Korea as a major win. And in 2019, Trump signed a limited agreement with Japan on agricultural products and digital trade that at the time he called a “huge victory for America’s farmers, ranchers and growers.”

Trump has also said on social media that countries aligned with the policy goals of BRICS, an organization composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, would face additional tariffs of 10 percent.


Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, GFZ says

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, GFZ says
Updated 24 min 24 sec ago

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, GFZ says

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes near east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region, GFZ says

An earthquake of magnitude 7.1 struck near the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka region on Saturday, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) said.
The quake was at a depth 10 km (6.2 miles), GFZ said.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) pegged the magnitude at 7.4, with a depth of 39.5 km (24.5 miles).
The Pacific Tsunami Warning System said there was a threat of a possible tsunami from the earthquake.
In Japan, to the southwest of the Kamchatka Peninsula, no tsunami warning has been issued, broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Japan Meteorological Agency.


Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims

Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims
Updated 13 September 2025

Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims

Fed Governor Lisa Cook claimed 2nd residence as ‘vacation home,’ undercutting Trump fraud claims

WASHINGTON: Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook referred to a condominium she purchased in June 2021 as a “vacation home” in a loan estimate, a characterization that could undermine claims by the Trump administration that she committed mortgage fraud.
President Donald Trump has sought to fire Cook “for cause,” relying on allegations that Cook claimed both the condo and another property as her primary residence simultaneously, as he looks to reshape the central bank to orchestrate a steep cut to interest rates. Documents obtained by The Associated Press also showed that on a second form submitted by Cook to gain a security clearance, she described the property as a “second home.”
Cook sued the Trump administration to block her firing, the first time a president has sought to remove a member of the seven-person board of governors. Cook secured an injunction Tuesday that allows her to remain as a Fed governor.
The administration has appealed the ruling and asked for an emergency ruling by Monday, just before the Fed is set to meet and decide whether to reduce its key interest rate. Most economists expect they will cut the rate by a quarter point.
Bill Pulte, a Trump appointee to the agency that regulates mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has accused Cook of signing separate documents in which she allegedly said that both the Atlanta property and a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, also purchased in June 2021, were both “primary residences.” Pulte submitted a criminal referral to the Justice Department, which has opened an investigation.
Claiming a home as a “primary residence” can result in better down payment and mortgage terms than if one of the homes is classified as a vacation home.
The descriptions of Cook’s properties were first reported by Reuters.
Fulton County tax records show Cook has never claimed a homestead exemption on the condo, which allows someone who uses a property as their primary residence to reduce their property taxes, since buying it in 2021.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Moscow says Ukraine peace talks frozen as NATO bolsters defenses

Moscow says Ukraine peace talks frozen as NATO bolsters defenses
Updated 12 September 2025

Moscow says Ukraine peace talks frozen as NATO bolsters defenses

Moscow says Ukraine peace talks frozen as NATO bolsters defenses
  • “For now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause” in talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters
  • “Putin’s goal is to occupy all of Ukraine,” Zelensky said

KYIV: Russia said Friday that peace talks with Ukraine were on “pause” as President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin still wanted to capture the whole of Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump meanwhile warned that he was running out of patience with Putin, and the NATO alliance said it would bolster its eastern front after Russian drones were shot down in Polish airspace this week.
The latest blow to faltering diplomacy came as Russia’s army staged major military drills with its key ally Belarus.
Despite Trump forcing the warring sides to hold direct talks and hosting Putin in Alaska, there has been no significant progress toward ending the war launched by Russia’s February 2022 invasion.
Moscow’s army has gained territory and Putin has vowed to carry on fighting if his peace demands — including Ukraine ceding yet more land — are not met.
“Our negotiators have the opportunity to communicate through channels. But for now, it is probably more accurate to talk about a pause” in talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“You can’t wear rose-tinted glasses and expect that the negotiation process will yield immediate results,” he added.
Speaking at a conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said the West should not trust Putin.
“Putin’s goal is to occupy all of Ukraine. And no matter what he tells anyone, it is clear that he has set the war machine in motion to such an extent that he simply cannot stop it unless he is forced to fundamentally change his personal goals,” Zelensky said.

- Trump’s patience ‘running out’ -

The Ukrainian leader also called on allies to encourage China to use its leverage with Russia to stop Moscow’s offensive.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Russia with additional sanctions if it does not halt the assault, but has failed to follow through, frustrating Ukraine.
“It’s sort of running out and running out fast, but it does take two to tango,” Trump told Fox television when asked if his patience was being taxed by Russia’s refusal to end the conflict.
“It’s amazing. When Putin wants to do it, Zelensky didn’t. When Zelensky wanted to do it, Putin didn’t. Now Zelensky wants to and Putin is a question mark. We’re going to have to come down very, very strong,” he added.
Ukraine has ruled out making territorial concessions in exchange for a deal, and is calling for a Putin-Zelensky summit to break the deadlock.
Putin has effectively ruled that out, and has threatened to target any Western soldiers that might be sent to Ukraine as peacekeepers without his approval.
Russia’s invasion has killed tens of thousands of people in Ukraine, forced millions from their homes and devastated much of the country’s east and south.


Boat capsizes in Congo, killing at least 86, most of them students

Boat capsizes in Congo, killing at least 86, most of them students
Updated 12 September 2025

Boat capsizes in Congo, killing at least 86, most of them students

Boat capsizes in Congo, killing at least 86, most of them students
  • Images that appear to be from the scene showed villagers gathered around bodies as they mourned
  • A local civil society group blamed the accident on the government and claimed the toll was higher

KINSHASA: A motorized boat capsized in northwestern Congo’s Equateur Province, killing at least 86 people, state media reported Friday.
The state news agency reported that the accident occurred on Wednesday in Basankusu territory, and that most of the victims were students.
It was not immediately clear what caused the accident although state media attributed it to “improper loading and night navigation,” citing reports from the scene.
Images that appear to be from the scene showed villagers gathered around bodies as they mourned.
A local civil society group blamed the accident on the government and claimed the toll was higher. Authorities could not be immediately reached for comment.
The capsizing of boats is becoming increasingly frequent in this central African nation as more people are abandoning the few available roads for cheaper, wooden vessels crumbling under the weight of passengers and their goods.
In such trips, life jackets are rare and the vessels are usually overloaded.
Many of the boats also travel at night, complicating rescue efforts during accidents and leaving many bodies often unaccounted for.


Secret report raises questions over UK justification for banning Palestine Action as more protests planned at Labour conference

Secret report raises questions over UK justification for banning Palestine Action as more protests planned at Labour conference
Updated 12 September 2025

Secret report raises questions over UK justification for banning Palestine Action as more protests planned at Labour conference

Secret report raises questions over UK justification for banning Palestine Action as more protests planned at Labour conference
  • The Labour government outlawed the group in July under the Terrorism Act
  • Report concluded “majority of the group’s activity would not constitute an act of terrorism”

LONDON: The British government’s decision to ban the pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action under terrorism laws is facing scrutiny after a secret intelligence assessment found most of the group’s activity “would not be classified as terrorism,” .

The Labour government outlawed the group in July under the Terrorism Act, putting it on the same footing as around 80 other organizations, including Al-Qaeda and Daesh.

The move criminalized membership, support and financing of the group, and hundreds of protesters have since been arrested for showing solidarity.

Minister of State for Security Dan Jarvis defended the designation, citing “clear advice and intelligence” after what he called an “escalating campaign involving intimidation and sustained criminal damage.”

Palestine Action, founded in 2020, has carried out break-ins and vandalism at facilities linked to Israel’s weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, and in June activists damaged aircraft during a raid on Britain’s largest air base.

But a declassified March 7 report seen by the NYT, from the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre which is part of MI5, painted a more cautious picture.

It noted that activists had caused serious damage, including one case where a protester attacked police officers with a sledgehammer. It also found the group’s underground manual encouraged sabotage.

However, it concluded “a majority of the group’s activity would not constitute an act of terrorism,” with common tactics being graffiti, sit-ins, and minor vandalism. The assessment also said it doubted the group would encourage attacks on people, something typical of other proscribed groups.

The report identified three incidents that could meet the terrorism threshold, all involving property damage at Elbit-linked sites.

One, a high-profile break-in at a Glasgow factory, was later prosecuted only as a “breach of the peace.” Scottish police records cited by The Times newspaper said the activity “has not been close to meeting the statutory definition of terrorism.”

Former officials and legal experts say the case highlighted how broadly terrorism laws were now being applied.

Alan Greene of Birmingham Law School told the NYT the Palestine Action ban “marks a radical departure from what came before” by relying on property destruction rather than threats to life.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk urged Britain to reverse the measure, warning it expanded terrorism “beyond clear boundaries.”

Home secretary Yvette Cooper, who advanced the ban, told Parliament the Glasgow raid had caused more than ÂŁ1 million ($1.35 million) in damage to submarine parts, though court evidence put the figure at about ÂŁ190,000 with the remainder attributed to lost revenue.

British politicians were also forced to vote on Palestine Action’s designation alongside two violent white-supremacist groups, which critics said made opposing the measure politically unfeasible.

Palestine Action formally dissolved after the ban, but supporters continue to campaign against its proscription, which the group is challenging in London’s High Court, with a hearing set for September 25.

The report’s findings were released as campaigners opposing the government’s decision to ban the group said they were preparing a week of demonstrations, beginning at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool later this month and ending with a mass rally in London’s Parliament Square on Oct. 4.

The protest wave was announced on Friday by Defend Our Juries, a group that has led opposition to the proscription, .

It comes a week after 857 people were arrested under the Terrorism Act outside Parliament, where demonstrators displayed signs reading “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.”

Organizers described the next phase as a “major escalation” that would pose an “unprecedented challenge” for police, claiming more than 1,100 people have already pledged to risk arrest.

“The blame lies squarely with the government for pursuing this authoritarian ban, plunging an overstretched police force, courts and prisons into further chaos,” a spokesperson said. They urged Cooper to heed MPs, peers, UN experts and party members calling for the measure to be lifted.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was accused of “grotesque double standards” for meeting Israeli president Isaac Herzog this week while activists faced arrest for displaying cardboard placards. Organizers vowed to target Labour’s conference, beginning Sept. 28, in defiance.

Defend Our Juries has also encouraged nationwide acts of solidarity, asking supporters to place signs in their windows. The move followed a viral video of former Labour councillor Keith Hackett being told by police he could legally display a Palestine Action poster at home but not in public.

Since the ban came into force, more than 1,600 people have been arrested, including religious officials, doctors, veterans and elderly activists. The figure already exceeds arrests made in the UK during the entire post-2001 “War on Terror.” Most detainees have not been charged, though seven alleged organizers appeared in court last week.

The Trades Union Congress this week unanimously passed a motion demanding the ban’s repeal, calling it a “significant abuse of counterterrorist powers and a direct attack on our right to protest against the genocidal Israeli regime.”