President Donald Trump has launched new trade attacks against 14 countries, including close allies Japan and South Korea. On Monday, the White House threatened to put tariffs of 25 percent to 40 percent on imports from these nations unless they fix what Trump sees as unfair trade deals. The move has caused anger among America’s closest partners around the world.
According to The Washington Post, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the tariff threats “deeply regrettable.” His party colleague, Itsunori Onodera, was even more upset, saying Trump’s decision “to notify a key ally with nothing more than a single letter is extremely disrespectful, and I feel a strong sense of indignation.” The tensions were so high that Trump then doubled down by referring to Trudeau as ‘Governor Trudeau’, insisting Canada “needs U.S. protection.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio dropped planned stops in Tokyo and Seoul during his Asia trip this week.
