[Anchor]
The reciprocal tariffs imposed by President Trump of the United States on countries worldwide will take effect today at 1 PM Korea time.
For countries with agreements, the agreed tariff rates will be applied, while for others, the tariff rates will be imposed based on notifications from the White House.
Let’s connect to Washington.
Reporter Kim Kyung-soo, is President Trump about to sign an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs?
[Reporter]
Yes, that’s correct.
It’s 5 PM on July 31 Eastern time here, and the White House announced that President Trump is expected to sign a new executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs today.
The tariffs will take effect starting at midnight on August 1.
There are about 6 hours left.
The White House confirmed that countries like Korea, Japan, and the European Union, which have concluded trade negotiations with the U.S., have customized trade agreements and the reciprocal tariff rate is 15% as agreed.
However, countries that have not concluded negotiations with the U.S. by the deadline will have their tariffs unilaterally announced by the White House.
Let’s hear from Caroline Leavitt, the White House spokesperson.
[Caroline Leavitt/White House Spokesperson: “If you have not yet received any communication regarding tariff imposition, you will be contacted by letter or executive order by midnight today.”]
[Anchor]
President Trump already imposed reciprocal tariffs once in April but postponed them. What’s different this time?
[Reporter]
President Trump, who often shares updates via social media, posted another message a day before the tariffs take effect.
He praised the tariffs, saying they are making America great again.
He claimed that the tide has turned and that the U.S. is successfully countering the unfavorable foreign tariff charges, while also criticizing the trade policies of his predecessors.
With only a few hours left until the tariffs take effect, countries are continuing their efforts to conclude negotiations.
President Trump just announced that excellent agreements have been reached with some countries.
He did not specify which countries or the contents of the agreement, but emphasized that they were generating trillions of dollars for the U.S.
For neighboring Mexico, the tariff increase has been postponed for 90 days.
President Trump has been imposing a 25% tariff on Mexico since April due to the issue of fentanyl imports, and he recently warned of an increase to 30%.
He explained that the deferred increase was because Mexico agreed to immediately remove numerous non-tariff trade barriers.
However, negotiations with countries like Canada and India are reportedly still facing difficulties.
[Anchor]
Let’s also hear about the U.S.-Korea foreign ministers’ meeting. Have any details about their discussions been reported?
[Reporter]
The U.S. State Department has announced that the foreign ministers of Korea and the U.S. reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and expressed significant concern over the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
Today marks the first meeting between Minister Cho and Secretary Rubio.
Given they met the day after the U.S.-Korea trade agreement was concluded, it is expected that discussions on summit schedules and agendas took place as follow-up measures.
Some behind-the-scenes stories related to yesterday’s agreement have emerged.
Finance Minister Scott Bassett, in an interview with CNBC, remarked that numerous trade barriers in Korea have been dismantled.
He also mentioned that President Trump slightly increased Korea’s proposal at the last minute.
Here’s the direct quote.
[Scott Bassett/U.S. Secretary of the Treasury/CNBC Interview: “President Trump slightly raised Korea’s proposal, and we reached a very good agreement. Korea will receive a 15% tariff and agreed to purchase a significant amount of American energy.”]
A photo of President Trump and the Korean negotiation team giving thumbs up after concluding the trade agreement has also been released.
In addition, the U.S. State Department emphasized that this trade agreement reflects the robustness of the U.S.-Korea alliance.
This is the news from Washington.
Camera: Park Joon-seok, Video Editing: Kim Eun-joo, Screen Source: CNBC, Data Research: Kim Na-young, Park Eun-jin
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