Trump dispatches letters outlining new tariffs on foreign nations

United States President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was slapping 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, in his first letters to trading partners ahead of a deadline to reach a deal with Washington.

Trump had said on the weekend that starting from today, he would send a first batch of up to 15 letters to countries informing them that he would reimpose harsh levies that he had postponed in April.

In near-identically worded letters to the Japanese and South Korean leaders...