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. trading partners are weighing responses after President Donald Trump’s latest action on tariffs sparked a stock market selloff Monday. The White House sent letters yesterday to about a dozen countries laying out the rates at which imports would be taxed—ranging from 25% to 40%—if no other trade agreements are reached.

China warned President Trump on Tuesday against restarting trade tensions and that it would hit back at countries that make deals with the US to exclude China from supply chains. Last month, the US and China agreed on a trade framework to ease tensions,