President Donald Trump on Monday set a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, as well as new tariff rates on Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos and Myanmar, all of which 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% 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 U.S. 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 Malaysia would be taxed at 25%, Myanmar at 40%, Laos at 40%, South Africa at 30% and Kazakhstan at 25%. 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. Trade talks have yet to deliver several deals White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated at a news briefing that similar letters to approximately five other countries also would be issued on Monday. 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, an stark departure from the more formal practices of all his predecessors when negotating 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. 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.” Wendy Cutler, vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute who formerly worked in the office of the U.S. 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. “Moreover, companies from both countries have made significant manufacturing investments in the U.S. in recent years, bringing high-paying jobs to U.S. workers and benefiting communities all around the country.” 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%. Higher […]  | Read More The Yeshiva World