Home > National > Politics

Trump says U.S. will raise pharmaceutical tariffs to 150% in 1 year, 250% later

Published: 06 Aug. 2025, 09:18 Updated: 06 Aug. 2025, 12:00

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media before heading to Marine One as he leaves the White House, in Washington on Aug. 1. President Trump is due to spend the weekend in Bedminster, New Jersey. [EPA/YONHAP]

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will put "small" tariffs on pharmaceutical imports initially, and then raise them to 150 percent in a year and to 250 percent later, as he unveiled a plan to announce sector-specific tariffs "within the next week or so."

Trump made the remarks in a CNBC interview as Korea and other countries are bracing for the Trump administration's rollout of new sectoral tariffs, including those on semiconductors following their deals with it over steep "reciprocal" tariffs that are set to take effect on Thursday.

Trump has been using tariffs to generate federal revenue, reduce America's trade deficits and bolster domestic manufacturing.

"On pharmaceuticals, we will be putting a [...] initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals," he said.

"But in one year [...] one and a half years maximum, it's going to go to 150 percent, and then it is going to go to 250 percent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country," he added.

Trump affirmed that his administration will unveil sectoral tariffs soon. He invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to roll out the tariffs, as the law allows the president to adjust imports into the United States when he determines they threaten to impair national security.

"Within the next week or so, we are going to be announcing tariffs," he said, noting that the new tariffs will be a "separate class" from country-specific reciprocal tariffs.

Last Wednesday, Trump announced a trade deal with Korea, under which his administration agreed to lower reciprocal tariffs on Korea to 15 percent, down from the proposed 25 percent, in return for Korea's commitment to invest $350 billion in the United States and other pledges.

The deal with Korea was among an array of framework trade agreements that his administration has signed with trading partners, including the European Union and Japan.

During the interview, Trump touted the deals.

"South Korea has opened up their country [...] but not only opened up, and that's going to be huge business," he said.

"When you open up South Korea, it's a closed country, and now all of a sudden, we are allowed to sell cars into South Korea, and trucks and SUVs. I mean we are really opening it up."

Touching on the European Union's $600 billion investment pledge, Trump called it a "gift."

"That's a gift. That's not like, you know, a loan by the way," he said, claiming that there's "nothing to pay back."

"They gave us $600 billion that we can invest in anything we want," he said.

His remarks raised the possibility that there could be a discrepancy over the nature of the investment pledges that other countries have made in their trade negotiations with the United States. Seoul officials have said that Korea's investment would mostly take the form of loans or loan guarantees.

Yonhap