The country’s new president, in office for a little over a month, had just dispatched his senior deputies to Washington to try to work out a trade deal.

The U.S.’s closest security allies in Asia, along with six Southeast Asian countries, have been given another three weeks to negotiate trade deals — or face higher tariffs.

New vehicles from the Japanese auto makers Subaru and Honda are seen at a parking lot in the Port of Richmond, as trade tensions escalate after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Japan and South Korea starting on August 1, at the bay of San Francisco, California, U.S., July 7, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria