Washington, July 12 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has advised countries in ongoing trade talks with his administration to “just keep working hard” ahead of the August 1 negotiation deadline, repeating his claim that America has been taken advantage of by “both friend and foe” for many years.

Trump made the remarks before departing for a flood-ravaged area in Texas, as South Korea, Japan and other countries strive to reach deals with the United States to avoid or minimize the impact of steep “reciprocal” tariffs that are set to take effect on August 1, reports Yonhap news agency.

“I think just keep working hard. You know, 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,” he said during a press availability at the White House.

“So I would say, ‘Just keep working.’ It’s all going to work out,” he added.

On Monday, Trump sent a letter addressed to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, saying that the U.S. will start imposing 25 percent tariffs on South Korean products on August 1 — rather than Wednesday, when the reciprocal tariffs were initially set to take effect following a 90-day pause.

He announced the new tariff plan in April as part of a drive to address trade barriers to U.S. goods, reduce U.S. trade deficits and rebuild American manufacturing.

Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States held talks this week in Seoul to discuss ways to “modernize” the bilateral alliance in a “mutually beneficial” manner and strengthen it into a “future-oriented” and “comprehensive strategic” one, the two sides said.

The consultations came as Trump administration has been calling on allies and partners to bolster their “burden sharing” while striving to prioritize deterring the “pacing threat” from an increasingly assertive China.

“The two sides discussed ways to strengthen the US-ROK Alliance into a future-oriented, comprehensive strategic alliance, and to modernize the Alliance in a mutually beneficial manner in the face of an evolving regional security environment,” the two countries’ joint press release read.

–IANS

na/