'Not-too-distant future...': Donald Trump sounds tariff bugle on imported pharmaceuticals

US President Donald Trump said on April 14 that he expects to impose tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals in the not-too-distant future, according to a Reuters report. 

For years, pharmaceuticals were kept outside the White House’s broader tariff war, but that exemption now appears to be ending. This shift could bring significant consequences, especially for countries like India, which are tightly intertwined with the US drug market.  

Earlier, speaking at a fundraiser dinner for his Republican Party, Trump had said, “We’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals. And when they hear that, they will leave China.” 

In 2024, the US imported $213 billion worth of medicines - more than two and a half times the total a decade earlier. 

On April 13, President announced that he would reveal the tariff rate on imported semiconductors in the coming week, indicating flexibility for certain companies in the sector. This announcement suggests that exemptions for smartphones and computers from his reciprocal tariffs on China may be temporary as Trump aims to reshape trade in the semiconductor industry. 

On April 11, the White House had announced exclusions from steep reciprocal tariffs, offering some hope that the tech industry might avoid becoming entangled in the trade conflict between the US and China.  

However, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified that essential technology products from China, along with semiconductors, would face new duties within two months. These duties are separate from Trump's reciprocal tariffs, which recently rose to 125 per cent on Chinese imports. 

Speaking on ABC's This Week, Lutnick said the new tariffs would be rolled out in approximately a month, alongside similar action on pharmaceutical goods.  

“We can't be relying on China for fundamental things that we need: our medicines and our semiconductors need to be built in America,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) on April 14 said that it will pause its planned retaliatory tariffs on US goods worth 21 billion euros until July 14 to allow more time for negotiations with Washington. 

The US had earlier imposed a 20% tariff on the EU as part of former President Trump's wider trade measures on April 2, but later put those tariffs on hold for 90 days just a week after imposing them. 

In response, the EU last week decided to temporarily halt its own counter-tariffs on US steel, aluminium, and car imports. However, the original US tariffs on those items are still in effect. 

The EU's pause will "take legal effect" on April 15, the European Commission said.