US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration might start imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports at the end of the month, while noting the timeline for duties on semiconductors was "similar" to that of those on pharmaceuticals.
Trump made the remarks, suggesting that his administration will phase in the tariffs on pharmaceuticals to allow time for companies to construct their production facilities in the United States.
"Probably at the end of the month and we are going to start off with a low tariff and give pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we're going to make it a very high tariff," he said during a press availability after returning from a public event in Pittsburgh.
He said that the implementation schedule for tariffs on semiconductors was similar but did not elaborate.
Last week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the Trump administration will complete its national security probes into semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports at the end of this month -- an indication that Trump's tariff announcements on the imports might be approaching.
Lutnick was referring to the investigations that he initiated in April under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Under the law, the president is provided with authority to adjust imports into the US when he determines they threaten to impair national security. (Yonhap)
