On the 15th (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on foreign pharmaceuticals by the end of this month. According to a report from the White House press corps, when asked about the tariff imposition, President Trump stated, “It will probably be by the end of this month.”
President Trump mentioned that they would start with low tariffs, giving pharmaceutical companies about a year to build domestic manufacturing lines, and then impose very high tariffs. Furthermore, when asked about the schedule for imposing tariffs on foreign semiconductors, he stated that it would be “similar” to that of pharmaceuticals but “less complicated.”
Additionally, President Trump said that reciprocal tariffs slightly over 10% would be uniformly applied to “small countries” around Africa and the Caribbean, with tariff letters to be sent soon to the target countries.
On the 7th, President Trump had sent letters indicating reciprocal tariff rates to 25 economic entities (24 countries plus the European Union), including South Korea and Japan, announcing plans to impose these tariffs starting from the 1st of the following month. He reaffirmed the schedule for imposing these tariffs, mentioning ongoing trade negotiations with five to six additional countries, aside from those with which trade agreements have already been reached, such as the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia.