Even as Washington ramps up pressure on Japan and South Korea to settle trade disputes with the US, diplomatic observers believe tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump are not likely to push its two Asian allies closer to Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to add an additional 10 percent tariff to any country aligned with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and then later threatened 25 percent tariffs as of 1 August on China,