Asian nations push for US tariff concessions

Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea said on Tuesday they would try to negotiate with the US to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August.

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Trump ramped up his trade war again on Monday, telling 14 nations that they would face tariffs ranging from 25% for countries including Japan and South Korea, to 40% for Laos and Myanmar.

However, with the start date pushed back to August I, those countries were focusing on the new three-week window to press for an easier ride.

Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said he was optimistic that more trade deals could be struck before the end of the week.

“However, it's incumbent upon the other countries to make the concessions that convince the president that the deals are worth taking for America,” Miran told Fox News.

Japan wants concessions for its large automobile industry, top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Tuesday.

Akazawa said he held a 40-minute phone call with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in which the two agreed to actively continue negotiations. However, he said he would not sacrifice Japan's agriculture sector - a powerful political lobby domestically - for the sake of an early deal.