On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to bring in new tariffs on imported semiconductors and medicines. He warned that the tariff on pharmaceuticals could go as high as 200%, but drug companies would have about a year to prepare.
“We’re going to give them about a year, maybe a year and a half,” Trump told reporters during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “After that, if they’re still bringing in pharmaceuticals from other countries, they’ll face very high tariffs—like 200%. We’re giving them time to get their act together.”
Trump also said the U.S. will be announcing new tariffs on other important goods soon, including pharmaceutical products and computer chips, while introducing a new tariff on copper. However, he didn’t give a specific date for the other announcements.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later told CNBC that more information about the medicine tariffs would come by the end of the month. He explained that the government is finishing its research on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and the president will decide on the exact policy after that.
The U.S. began looking into the pharmaceutical industry in April, arguing that relying too much on medicine from other countries could be a national security risk. The Commerce Department is still working on the final report from that investigation.
