With 25% tariffs on Japan and South Korea, US President Donald Trump has continued to punish allies and reward traditional adversaries like Russia and North Korea that face zero tariffs. Such a behaviour the purported US pivot to the Indo-Pacific and risk alienating traditional allies.

President Donald Trump on Monday placed a 25% tax on goods imported from Japan and South Korea, citing persistent trade imbalances with the two crucial U.S. allies in Asia.Trump provided notice of the tariffs to begin on Aug.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to add an additional 10 percent tariff to any country aligned with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and then later threatened 25 percent tariffs as of 1 August on China, South Korea, and Japan, as his “liberation day” tariff pause is poised to expire on 9 July.