Watch: Trump hits 14 countries with new tariffs as July 9 deadline nears

The trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world is heating up once again with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a new set of tariff on goods imported from 14 countries, including allies like Japan and South Korea.

These new rates will go into effect on August 1.

He posted the letters on social media and warned the leaders of these countries not to retaliate or risk facing even higher tariffs. But he left the door open for negotiations, saying that the U.S. will consider reducing tariffs if the country opens its doors to American exports.

Trump will be sending more of these letters in the days to come.

The Trump administration is pursuing a policy of “reciprocal tariffs” to reduce the country’s massive trade deficits with other countries and boost manufacturing at home.

Back in April, Trump unveiled sweeping new “Liberation Day” tariffs before pausing them for 90 days to give countries time to secure new trade deals. That pause ends on July 9. The tariffs are set to kick in on August 1, if partners do not strike deals with Washington, the trump administration warned earlier this week.

Trump’s moves have raised fears of a global slowdown and risks putting the global trading system into chaos.

Even though the deadline is just hours away, the Trump administration still hasn’t reached agreements with some of its biggest trading partners, like the European Union and India, or allies like Japan and South Korea, who can counter China’s economic heft. He has been successful in striking deals with the U.K., China and Vietnam.

But, with three weeks till Trump’s new deadline, we can expect to see a flurry of activity in Washington and there’s still a chance the U.S. could seal more trade agreements.

Presentation: Athira Madhav

Camera: Thamodaran B

Script: V. Nivedita

Production: V. Nivedita