Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has responded to a letter from US President Donald Trump  threatening Tokyo with higher import duties unless a new trade agreement is reached.

Ishiba said on Tuesday that he will continue tariff negotiations with the US to work out a deal that works for both partners.

In April, Trump announced a 90-day pause, until July 9, on tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on dozens of countries, including most major trading partners.

But as this new deadline approached, Trump on Monday said he would introduce higher tariffs on August 1 on trading partners who do not negotiate new deals. 

EU wants 'fast' deal 

The European Union is aiming to get a deal done before the August 1 deadline.

EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday that "the faster we can reach the agreement, the better."

"That would remove uncertainty surrounding these tariff questions and indeed we see that it is weighing on the economy and also on investment decisions of the companies," Dombrovskis said.

"We have been working with this ninth of July deadline in mind, but as I outlined, as it seems, the US have now postponed in a sense this deadline to first of August, so that gives us a bit more time, but from our side we remain concentrated," Dombrovskis added.

According to Reuters news agency, citing EU sources on Monday, the bloc did not expect to receive a tariff letter from Trump. However, on Tuesday, Trump told reporters during a cabinet meeting that he was "probably two days away" from sending the EU a letter. Trump added that the EU "has been very nice to us" and "we will see what happens." 

EU diplomats told AFP news agency earlier Tuesday that the European Commission, which is carrying out trade negotiations on behalf of the 27-member bloc, expects to work out a 10% baseline tariff with Trump to be in place on EU goods, with some limited exceptions. 

If no deal can be negotiated, the US tariff on EU imports is expected to be 20%.

Trump says August 1 is final deadline 

On Tuesday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that "there would be no change" to the August 1st deadline, amid speculation that there would be another extension. 

Trump had warned that letters were being sent out on Monday, alerting other nations to the latest plans in his trade war.

He then added that the US would impose a 25% tariff on imports from two of its closest allies, Japan and South Korea starting on August 1, apparently unveiling the first two trading partners to receive a "letter."

"If, for any reason, you decide to raise your tariffs, then, whatever the number you choose to raise them by, will be added on to the 25% that we charge," Trump told Japan and South Korea in letters released on his Truth Social platform.

These tariffs will not be combined with the previously announced sectoral tariffs, such as the ones on automobiles and steel and aluminum.

"While the news is disappointing, it does not mean the game is over," former US trade negotiator Wendy Cutler, the vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute told Reuters news agency.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier said the August target is "not a new deadline" for negotiations. 

Ishiba said his earlier talks with Trump had helped avoid an even higher tariff rate of around 30-35%. 

He said he will seek an agreement that benefits both nations, "while protecting Japan's national interest."

Who else got the letter?

Trump said the US will impose tariffs of 25% on exports from Tunisia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, with 30% on South Africa, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He announced even higher tariffs of 32% on Indonesia, 35% on Serbia and Bangladesh, 36% on Cambodia and Thailand and 40% on Laos and Myanmar.

South Africa was also one of the recipients of Trump's letter and was imposed with a 30% reciprocal tariff. President Cyril Ramaphosa said on X that "it is not an accurate representation of available trade data."

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher