Trump gov't announces adjustments to metal tariffs, 100% pharmaceutical duty amid affordability concerns
Published: 03 Apr. 2026, 08:53
![U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled ″Make America Wealthy Again″ at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/03/723b9c23-7552-49bd-8dc6-e5a5761cfa06.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled ″Make America Wealthy Again″ at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday it will impose 50 percent tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports, calculating the duties based on the “full value” paid by U.S. customers, describing the move as a way to strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the tariff measures for the domestic steel industry.
It also plans to adjust tariffs on derivative metal products, under which no additional sectoral duties will be imposed on products containing less than 15 percent steel, aluminum or copper by weight, while a 25 percent tariff will apply to those exceeding that threshold, a senior U.S. official said in an online briefing.
Trump signed a proclamation on the adjustments that are set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. The White House said that the changes are intended to strengthen the metal tariffs to “more effectively address the national security threat posed by such imports.”
“The proclamation defines the way that tariffs are assessed, ensuring that they reflect the full value of imported steel, aluminum and copper products — not an artificially low foreign price,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
It appears to suggest that some foreign exporters are artificially manipulating prices to reduce tariff payments.
During the press briefing, the official said that the adjustments concerning derivative metal products are meant to “simplify” the duty calculation process.
Currently, the United States assesses the metal duties based on the value of the metal content in each of the derivative products, a complicated calculation process.
But under the adjustments, U.S. authorities will impose a “simple, straightforward” 25 percent tariff on products containing a “substantial” amount of steel, aluminum or copper, the official said, while no sectoral tariff will be applied to the derivative goods containing less than 15 percent steel, aluminum or copper.
The changes are expected to affect Korean companies exporting washing machines, refrigerators and other products that contain steel components.
“Instead of doing this complex calculation, [we] will simply say it's a 25 percent tariff on a washing machine because obviously, washing machines [are made of] huge amounts of steel,” the official said.
![U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled ″Make America Wealthy Again″ at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/03/da0305c9-ebb7-4ecd-bbbb-8a548a29eb97.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a signed executive order after delivering remarks on reciprocal tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden entitled ″Make America Wealthy Again″ at the White House in Washington on April 2, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]
On the day, Trump also signed a separate document to impose a long-awaited 100 percent tariff on patented pharmaceuticals that are not made in the United States and do not have a most-favored-nation (MFN) pricing agreement with Washington, according to the official.
But Korea, Japan, Switzerland and the European Union are not subject to the 100 percent tariff, as those countries have made bilateral trade deals with the United States, the official said. Different rates will apply to such regions, such as 10 percent for Britain and 15 percent for Korea, Japan and the rest of Europe.
As for exceptions, he said that if a company commits to building a pharmaceutical plant in the United States, its tariff will be reduced to 20 percent. If it is building a plant in the United States with an MFN agreement with Washington, then its tariff will go down to zero, he said.
The official also said that certain big companies will be given 120 days to decide whether to announce “reshoring” plans before the 100 percent tariff kicks in, while smaller companies will have 180 days.
Asked if the Trump administration has concerns about the possibility of metal derivative tariffs affecting affordability for U.S. citizens, the official said that there will be “no impact on affordability whatsoever.”
“These will not have an impact on the price of the goods on the shelf,” he said.
Both metal and pharmaceutical tariffs are based on Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 — a law that allows the president to adjust imports into the United States when he determines they threaten to impair national security.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG TAE-HWA, YONHAP [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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