China, Japan, South Korea To jointly respond to US Tariffs

Source: Watcher Guru | Original Published At: 2025-03-31 16:40:29 UTC

Key Points

• China, Japan, and South Korea will coordinate responses to threatened US tariffs
• First economic dialogue in five years held ahead of Trump's expected tariff announcement
• Potential semiconductor supply chain collaboration mentioned (materials from China, chips from Japan/Korea)
• Trade ministers agreed to advance trilateral free trade agreement negotiations
• EU also preparing concessions to counter US tariffs

According to Chinese state media, China, Japan, and South Korea will jointly respond to Donald Trump’s threats of US Tariffs on those countries. The comments came after the three countries held their first economic dialogue in five years on Sunday. The Asian powers will reportedly work together to brace for the tariff threats from the US.

A social media account affiliated with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV broke the news Monday morning. The account, named Yuyuan Tantian, reports that Japan and South Korea are seeking to import semiconductor raw materials from China. Also, China is reportedly interested in purchasing chip products from Japan and South Korea, the Weibo account writes.

During Sunday’s meeting, the countries’ trade ministers agreed to ‘closely cooperate for comprehensive and high-level’ talks on a South Korea-Japan-China free trade agreement deal to promote ‘regional and global trade’, according to a statement released after the meeting. This week, Trump is expected to share an announcement of several more tariffs, nicknaming the day of this announcement ‘Liberation Day.’

Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul are some of the biggest trading partners for the US out in Asia. Thus, the proposed tariffs completely upend those trading relationships and will change the way those partnerships are carried moving forward. Furthermore, with BRICS already serving as a rival to the US, these three major countries in Asia teaming up to respond to the tariff threats could mean worries for the US moving forward as well.

The European Union is also planning responses to US Tariffs. The EU is reportedly planning concessions it is willing to make to US President Donald Trump to ensure the removal of his recent tariffs. Indeed, the union is planning a ‘term sheet’ of those concessions. It’s unclear if China, Japan, and South Korea will take a similar approach to responding to the tariff threats.