By Jeff Mason and Leika Kihara WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) -Powerhouse Asian economies Japan and South Korea said on Tuesday they would try to negotiate with the U.S. to soften the impact of sharply higher tariffs that President Donald Trump now plans to impose from the start of August.

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.

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