U.S. President Donald Trump has urged countries engaged in trade talks with his administration to “just keep working hard” ahead of the looming August 1 deadline for steep reciprocal tariffs. His comments come amid intensified negotiations with countries like South Korea and Japan.

“We’ve been taken advantage of for many, many years by countries, both friend and foe. And frankly, the friends have been worse than the foes in many cases,” Trump said before departing for flood-hit Texas. “So I would say, just keep working. It’s all going to work out,” he added.

The Trump administration has planned to impose up to 25 per cent tariffs on nations that fail to reach trade agreements by August 1. These include major U.S. allies who are trying to avoid or reduce the impact of new tariffs under Trump’s “America First” trade doctrine.

Earlier this week, Trump sent a letter to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, informing him that the U.S. would delay tariffs on South Korean imports until August 1, extending a 90-day pause that was originally due to expire this Wednesday.

The tariffs are part of Trump’s broader push to dismantle trade barriers, reduce U.S. deficits, and rebuild domestic manufacturing.

Meanwhile, South Korea and the U.S. held bilateral talks in Seoul to explore ways to modernize their alliance. According to a joint statement, the countries aim to transform the U.S.-ROK relationship into a “future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance,” in light of regional security challenges posed by China.

The discussions also focused on enhancing mutual defense cooperation and equitable burden-sharing, aligning with Washington’s emphasis on allies taking more responsibility in the Indo-Pacific region.