Online Reporter
US President Donald Trump announced a fresh round of tariffs, including a 100 percent duty on branded or patented pharmaceuticals, starting October 1, unless a company is building a manufacturing plant in America.
No levies will be applied to pharmaceutical imports if companies have broken ground on a US manufacturing plant, or if such a plant is under construction, Trump posted on social media Thursday.
“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100 percent Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” Trump wrote. “There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started.”
Trump’s announcement was one of several about new industry-focused tariffs set to begin next Wednesday. Imported heavy trucks will be subject to a 25 percent duty, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities will be hit with a 50 percent charge, and upholstered furniture imports are to be taxed at 30 percent.
Taken together, the moves amount to a rapid expansion of Trump’s tariff regime, which he started to erect shortly after taking office. It comes at a time when the president has flexed his executive powers like none of his modern predecessors; just as Trump made the levies public, former FBI Director James Comey, a longtime Trump political enemy, was indicted on perjury charges under heavy pressure from the president.
Asian stocks fell on news of the tariffs. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0,5 percent after the S&P 500 dropped for a third session, the longest slide in a month. Asian pharmaceutical stocks slumped. — Bloomberg
