‘100% tariffs on pharma unless...’: Trump's move that may hit India has an exception
Trump also announced that US will impose a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, 30% on upholstered furniture, and 25% on heavy trucks.
United States President Donald Trump on Friday announced that his administration will impose a 100 per cent tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical products from October 1 2025, a move likely to affect India. However, he introduced an exception – companies building production facilities in the United States will be exempt from the tariff.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, "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.'"
However, news agency ANI quoted Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance, as saying, "The executive order refers to patented or branded products supplied to the US. It does not apply to generic medicines."
What about companies that have already started plants?
Trump noted that companies that have already begun constructing plants in the United States will be exempt from the new tariff. "There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" the post stated.
He also announced broad tariffs on a range of household goods, including imported kitchen cabinets and certain types of furniture, potentially driving up costs in a sector that has already seen price rises in recent months.
In 2024, the United States imported nearly $233 billion worth of pharmaceutical and medicinal products, according to the Census Bureau. The possibility of prices doubling for some medicines could shock voters, as healthcare expenses, along with Medicare and Medicaid costs, may see significant increases.
What are the other products that are set to be hit with tariffs?
Trump also announced that starting October 1 2025, his administration will impose a 50 per cent tariff on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and related products, and a 30 per cent tariff on upholstered furniture. He also confirmed a 25 per cent tariff on heavy trucks.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, "We will be imposing a 50 per cent Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities, and associated products, starting October 1st, 2025. Additionally, we will be charging a 30 per cent Tariff on Upholstered Furniture."
Tariffs imposed over the past year have already driven up furniture prices. In August, overall furniture costs were 4.7 per cent higher than the same month in 2024, with living and dining room furniture rising 9.5 per cent, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. The increases follow tariffs on China and Vietnam, which exported USD 12 billion worth of furniture and fixtures to the US last year.
Trump defended the tariffs, saying the US market had been flooded with foreign products: "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."
His administration has also opened multiple probes into national security implications of imports of items such as wind turbines, airplanes, semiconductors, copper, timber, critical minerals, and, more recently, personal protective equipment, medical supplies, robotics, and industrial machinery.
In August, new tariff rates were applied to dozens of countries: 50 per cent on Indian and Brazilian goods, 30 per cent on South African products, 20 per cent on Vietnamese goods, and 15 per cent on Japanese and South Korean goods, including a 25 per cent penalty for trade with Russia.
