Trump announces new US tariffs on drugs, trucks and furniture

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled new tariffs on a broad range of imported goods, including 100% duties on branded drugs and 25% levies on heavy-duty trucks, set to come into force on October 1, 2025.

The latest tariffs, which Trump said was to protect the U.S. manufacturing industry and national security, follows sweeping duties on trading partners of up to 50% and other targeted levies on imported products such as steel, Reuters reported..

“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America. “IS BUILDING” will be defined as, “breaking ground” and/or “under construction.” There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

In a separate post he said the U.S. will be imposing a 50% tariff on “all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities, and associated products, starting October 1st, 2025.” “Additionally, we will be charging a 30% Tariff on Upholstered Furniture. The reason for this is the large scale “FLOODING” of these products into the United States by other outside Countries. It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process.”

President Trump said he will also impose a 25% tariff on all “Heavy (Big!) Trucks” made in other parts of the world to protect “our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition.”

According to CNN, Trump has been promising for months to levy tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, which avoided tariffs during his first term. The president sees tariffs as a way to pressure drug manufacturers to ramp up production in the US and to strengthen the supply chain for essential medicines.

Also, Trump has pointed to tariffs as a way to fulfill his vow to lower drug costs, CNN reported.