Trump Expected to Impose 'Pharmaceutical Tariff' by End of Month…"Tariff Rate to Rise After One Year"

"Semiconductors on Similar Timeline"

Donald Trump, President of the United States, plans to impose itemized tariffs on foreign pharmaceuticals as early as the end of this month.

According to the White House media pool on the 15th (local time), after attending an event in Pittsburgh and returning to Washington, President Trump was asked by reporters about the plan to impose pharmaceutical tariffs and replied, "It will probably be at the end of this month."

President Trump elaborated, "We will start with low tariffs and give pharmaceutical companies about a year to build (production lines in the United States)," adding, "Then we will impose very high tariffs." He thus revealed his plan to gradually increase pharmaceutical tariffs.

He was also asked about the timetable for tariffs on foreign semiconductors and said, "It is similar (to pharmaceuticals)" and "less complicated." In addition, President Trump noted that an average reciprocal tariff rate slightly exceeding 10% will be uniformly applied to "small countries" in areas such as Africa and the Caribbean, and mentioned that tariff letters will soon be sent to the target nations.

On the 7th, President Trump began by sending letters specifying reciprocal tariffs to 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, and has now sent such letters to 25 economic entities (24 countries + the European Union), announcing that reciprocal tariffs would be imposed starting from the 1st of next month. On this day, President Trump also reaffirmed the schedule for imposing reciprocal tariffs and explained that, in addition to the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Indonesia, with whom trade agreements have already been reached, trade negotiations are currently underway with another 5 to 6 countries.

He was also reported by Bloomberg to have repeatedly mentioned South Korea. He suggested that some countries, including South Korea, are willing to "open" their trade in response to his threats, while other nations, such as Japan, are not.

President Trump also stated earlier, on the 13th, that countries such as South Korea, Japan, and the European Union (EU) are seeking to open their markets to lower tariffs imposed by the United States. At the time, he told reporters, "The EU wants to open their country. I'd say Japan is much less willing to open its market."

He continued, "But they are all changing their ways very, very quickly, and South Korea wants to conclude negotiations," adding, "As you know, South Korea is paying a considerable amount in tariffs."

Also, on this day, President Trump stated that weapons pledged to Ukraine by the United States have already begun shipping, and that the related costs will be borne by other member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He reaffirmed that there will be no deployment of U.S. troops to Ukraine.

Reporter Subin Park, Hankyung.com waterbean@hankyung.com