President Donald Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday that planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. could eventually reach up to 250%, the highest rate he has threatened so far.
He said he will initially impose a “small tariff” on pharmaceuticals, but then in a year to a year and a half “maximum,” he will raise that rate to 150% and then 250%.
The president has repeatedly threatened and then changed course on tariff proposals, so there’s no guarantee he will eventually set pharmaceutical tariffs at the 250% rate. In early July, Trump had threatened 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The Trump administration in April initiated a so-called Section 232 investigation on pharmaceutical products. That’s a legal authority that allows the secretary of Commerce to investigate the impact of imports on national security.
The tariffs are the president’s bid to incentivize drug companies to move manufacturing operations to the U.S. at a time when domestic drug manufacturing has shrunk dramatically over the last few decades. Over the last six months, companies like Eli Lilly
