The US will impose tariffs of 25% on imports from Japan and South Korea and 30% on South Africa, according to documents published on the social media platform Truth Social, which also targeted other countries. Should the US decide to retaliate, it will add a 25% surcharge to the tariffs it will collect, the letters say.

The two Asian countries were the first to see the tariffs set by letter, among about a dozen countries, with the rates that the Trump Administration decided to implement unilaterally, in the absence of an agreement.

The tariffs will be implemented from August 1, the White House spokeswoman confirmed, and are in line with the so-called reciprocal tariffs that had been announced on Liberation Day.

Following the announcement, a 10% base tariff was implemented on most countries for 90 days of negotiations, a deadline that ends on July 9. However, Trump decided to bring forward the deadline by releasing the letters to a number of countries on Monday.

Trump also announced 25% tariffs on Malaysia and Kazakhstan, while Laos and Myanmar will face a 40% tariff.

“Unfortunately, our relationship is far from reciprocal,” Trump wrote in the letters, which are expected to continue being sent on Monday.

Until now, the Trump administration had only announced agreements or agreements in principle with three countries: China, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

As for the agreement with the EU, the European Commission (EC) insists that it will continue to try to reach an understanding with the White House, two days before the deadline.

At a press conference in Brussels on Monday, an EC spokesman, Olaf Gill, simply responded that the EU executive hopes to reach an agreement by Wednesday.

“We are working towards July 9, to the point where we want to have a principle of a minimum agreement with the US,” the spokesperson said.