US President Donald Trump said that planned tariffs on pharmaceutical products imported into the country could reach 250 percent, CNBC reported. This is the highest rate the head of state has threatened so far, BTA reported.
"We're going to start with a low rate", Trump said in a television interview, "but in a year, a year and a half, maximum, we'll get to 150 percent, and then to 250". He specified that the ultimate goal is to bring drug production back to the US.
According to CNBC, the president has repeatedly made similar threats, which were subsequently mitigated or canceled. In early July, he threatened a 200 percent tariff on imported drugs.
His administration launched an investigation in April under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which allows the president to impose tariffs to protect national security.
Trump insists that the tariffs will encourage pharmaceutical companies to bring their production back to American soil. This sector in the United States has shrunk significantly in recent decades. In the past six months, companies such as "Eli Lilly" and "Johnson & Johnson" have announced new investments in the country.
"We want to have drugs made in the country," Trump stressed.
Last week, he sent letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies calling for them to commit to price-cutting measures by September 29. Among his demands is the provision of a complete list of existing drugs at the lowest price offered in other developed countries for every patient on the Medicaid program.
Trump announced today on CNBC that he will also impose new tariffs on imports of semiconductors and chips - a measure that will be implemented "as early as next week." "We will announce the tariffs because we want these products to be made in the United States," the president stressed.
Global demand for semiconductors and microchips has increased sharply as they are increasingly used - from automotive to artificial intelligence technologies.
Trump recently signed an executive order imposing new tariffs on imports from a number of countries, with some US trading partners facing significant increases.
"I have the best poll results I've ever had", the president said. "People love tariffs". However, the television network noted that his ratings had fallen in recent polls by a number of polling agencies.
Trump also expressed his expectation that falling energy prices could put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.