U.S. President Donald Trump said on the 25th (local time) that starting on the 1st of next month he will impose a 100% tariff on medicines from corporations that do not build pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in the United States.
Trump wrote on the social media (SNS) platform Truth Social, "Unless a company builds its pharmaceutical plants in the United States, starting Oct. 1 we will impose a 100% tariff on brand-name or patented medicines."
He added, " 'Is building' is defined as 'groundbreaking' or 'construction is underway,' " and wrote, "Therefore, if construction has begun, there will be no tariff on such medicines." In effect, every pharmaceutical company that does not currently have a drug manufacturing plant in the United States becomes subject to the tariff.
There are immediate concerns about the hit to Korean pharmaceutical companies exporting products to the United States. Korea's medicine exports to the United States last year totaled about $1.49 billion (about 2 trillion won).
Meanwhile, in another post, Trump said he will impose a 50% tariff on "kitchen cabinets, bathroom sinks, and related products."
He went on to say he will impose a 30% tariff on "furniture stuffed with cushions or cotton," stressing it is "because of the flood of foreign products into the United States." This means sofas and chairs, among other items, would face a 30% tariff.