South Kore's KOSPI index down 3.87%, Japan's Nikkei falls 0.63%, Shanghai index drops 0.33%, Hang Seng loses 0.47%
Major stock markets in Asia started the day with losses after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday modifying tariff rate for dozens of countries ahead of his self-imposed Friday, Aug. 1 trade deal deadline.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.63% or 254.57 points to 40,824.83, and South Korea's KOSPI index was down 3.87% to 3,120.26 points as of 0635GMT.
The Asia Dow, which tracks the region's top blue-chip companies, dropped 1.16% to 3,755.12 points as of 1325GMT.
The Hang Seng Index, a key benchmark for Hong Kong's blue-chip stocks, fell 0.47% to 24,659.58 points, and China's Shanghai Stock Exchange dropped 0.33% to 3,562.39 points.
India's Sensex index also dropped 0.34% to 80,906.82.
The new tariff rates, some of which are higher than levies imposed on April 2, go into effect on Aug. 7, appearing to give negotiators a further buffer to hammer out deals.
The order for the new rates says that some of the affected nations "have agreed to, or are on the verge of concluding, meaningful trade and security agreements with the United States" and will be subjected to the increased tariffs until their deals are finalized.
The president earlier said that his administration had struck a "couple" of deals but did not offer further details. It is unclear which nations Trump was referring to when he spoke to reporters at the White House.
The US has struck trade deals with the UK, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, the EU, and South Korea. Trade talks with China are still ongoing.
Trump on April 2 announced sweeping tariffs for countries across the world and later established a 10% baseline rate that would be imposed on countries while individual negotiations played out. The president imposed an Aug. 1 deadline for nations to strike deals with his negotiating team or face heightened import duties.
Most nations received tariff rates between 15%-30%, but Iraq (35%), Laos (40%), Myanmar (40%), Switzerland (39%) and Syria (41%) were each tagged with higher rates.
South Korea was subjected to a 15% levy, Taiwan 20%, Japan 15%, Thailand 19%, the Philippines 19%, and Malaysia 19%.
