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.

The U.S.’s closest security allies in Asia, along with six Southeast Asian countries, have been given another three weeks to negotiate trade deals — or face higher tariffs.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had called off his first visit to Japan and South Korea in early July to "focus on Middle East issues," Japanese media outlet Nikkei Asia reported. In response, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said that Rubio's visit to South Korea appears to be "difficult" to arrange in the near future.