U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said on the 29th (local time) that he will announce plans to impose tariffs on imported medicines within two weeks.

Minister Kim Jeong-kwan is taking a commemorative photo with Minister Howard Lutnick in the meeting room of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in Washington D.C. on the 24th (local time). /Courtesy of News1

Minister Lutnick noted in an interview with CNBC that this is the timetable for imposing item-specific tariffs on medicines.

Earlier, President Trump stated on the 15th that tariffs on medicines would be imposed starting at the end of this month, but the schedule appears to be somewhat delayed.

At that time, President Trump said, "We will start with low tariffs, give pharmaceutical companies about a year to construct (domestic production lines), and then impose very high tariffs," revealing a gradual increase plan.

Minister Lutnick also claimed regarding trade negotiations between the United States and various countries, "We will wrap things up by Friday (Aug. 1)" and insisted that "there needs to be complete market openness from all countries to the United States."

Regarding the trade agreement between the United States and the European Union (EU), Minister Lutnick said, "I look forward to continuing the dialogue," adding that "steel and aluminum are still on the table."

The United States and the EU continue to make conflicting statements regarding the agreement's contents. Earlier, the EU stated in a press release titled "Description of the EU-U.S. Trade Agreement" that regarding the 50% tariffs currently imposed on steel and aluminum, "we will introduce a low-tariff quota (TRQ) for European exports at traditional trade levels, which will lower the current 50% tariffs."

However, the White House did not mention the agreement on the introduction of the European steel TRQ in the 'U.S.-EU Trade Agreement Fact Sheet' published on its website, stating that "the item tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper will not change. The EU will continue to pay the 50%, and both sides will discuss securing supply chains for these products."

In addition, Minister Lutnick said that President Donald Trump would make the final decision on whether to reach an agreement regarding trade negotiations with India.

※ This article has been translated by AI. Share your feedback here.