On July 7, Trump announced 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, effective August 1. He also announced separate rates for a number of other countries. On Tuesday, he said letters would be going out soon to dozens of smaller countries notifying them their goods would face a tariff rate of over 10%.

He was aware about President Donald Trump’s frustration over the imbalance in US-Japan trade relations and offered to boost Japan’s cumulative investment in the United States to $1 trillion. It was more than a symbolic move as Japan is already the biggest foreign investor in the US,