President Donald Trump signed decrees on Thursday imposing new tariffs on a number of imported drugs on one hand, while adjusting existing ones on metals, exactly one year after announcing his global tariffs.
The surcharge on pharmaceutical products aims to speed up the establishment of factories in the United States and could reach up to 100%, but only 15% for countries or territories like the European Union, Japan, or South Korea, which have a trade agreement with Washington.
At the same time, the overhaul of tariffs imposed on metals aims to address the practices of companies seeking to “artificially manipulate” the prices of their production in order to resell them cheaper in the United States, according to the thesis developed by the White House.
Specifically, finished products containing 50% or more of steel, aluminum, or copper will now be taxed at 25% of their total value, instead of 50% on the proportion of metals they contained.
The new rules regarding metals will take effect starting on Monday, while tariffs on pharmaceutical products will become reality within 120 to 180 days, depending on the size of the company, according to the White House.
“Our goal is for the majority of licensed pharmaceutical products to be manufactured in the United States,” said a US official to the press.
Companies that commit to establishing factories in the United States will only be subject to 20% tariffs on their drugs by the end of Donald Trump’s term, giving them time to build their production lines in the country.
As for those who apply “most favored nation” prices to their drugs sold in the United States and commit to setting up factories there, they will simply be exempt from tariffs.
In addition, White House Trade Representative (USTR) Jamieson Greer announced the signing of a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, foreseeing an increase in drug prices on the market in exchange for no tariffs on those exported from the UK.
His decree regarding metals comes from imposing particular rules, especially on foreign companies to pay low tariffs on the purchase value of American products.
“It’s simply a matter of simplification and fairness,” assured this official, who also believes that there should be no consequences on prices for consumers.
Just one year ago, on the occasion of what he presented as “liberation day,” the American president announced a series of tariffs applied to all products entering the United States, with the declared intention of balancing the trade balance of the world’s largest economy.
At the same time, he imposed surcharges targeting several specific industrial sectors, such as steel and aluminum, automobiles, or copper, considered strategically important by the White House.
The Supreme Court has since deemed a good portion of these surcharges unconstitutional, nullifying them in practice, even though the government has announced the introduction of new tariffs, this time 10%, until the end of July. However, this decision did not affect the sectoral tariffs, which are still active.
