Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.3% higher on Tuesday. South Korea’s KOSPI rose by 1.8%.
The U.S. President also threatened to hike tariffs further if either Japan or South Korea retaliates with their own measures.
Both Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed optimism on Tuesday that they could find a mutually-agreeable arrangement before August 1.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is up by 1% as of 3:30am Eastern. India’s NIFTY 50 is flat. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also closed flat.
Trump told reporters on Monday that the tariffs weren’t “100% firm”, meaning there was still room for negotiation before August 1. A total of 14 letters were sent out and more than half were to economies in Asia.
Many other economies, particularly in Southeast Asia, were also slapped with new tariff rates on Monday, ranging from 25% to 40%. While some of these rates were lower than what was threatened back in April, they are still an escalation from the flat 10% tariff on all U.S. imports.
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia have all publicly offered to buy more U.S. products, like energy or agricultural goods.
Malaysia, already in negotiations with Washington, said Tuesday that it will continue negotiations with the U.S. The country is now getting a 25% tariff, one percentage point higher than what was proposed on “Liberation Day.”
Malaysia’s Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry said in a statement that the country is “committed to continuing engagement with the U.S. towards a balanced, mutually beneficial, and comprehensive trade agreement”.
