Trump threatens 25% tariffs on imported cars, pharmaceutical, and semiconductors
U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated his trade offensive, announcing plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on imported cars, with similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, Trump told reporters that auto industry tariffs would “be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” with further details expected by April 2. When asked about levies on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, he responded, “It’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll go very substantially higher over (the) course of a year.”
Trump has consistently argued that tariffs are necessary to counter unfair trade practices and has used them as a tool to influence global policy. Since taking office in January, he has imposed or threatened levies on key U.S. trading partners, including a 10 percent duty on all goods from China and 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The president suggested that foreign companies could avoid these tariffs by relocating manufacturing operations to the United States. “When they come into the United States and they have their plant or factory here, there is no tariff,” he said. “So we want to give them a little bit of a chance.” He added that some major firms had already expressed interest in returning production to the U.S.
However, experts have warned that tariffs on imports often lead to increased costs for American consumers rather than foreign exporters. Currently, about half of the cars sold in the U.S. are manufactured domestically, while the rest are imported. Major foreign suppliers include Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Germany.
As tensions rise between the U.S. and its trading partners, the proposed tariffs are expected to trigger strong reactions from both domestic industries and global trade allies.
