U.S. President Donald Trump said he plans to impose tariffs on foreign pharmaceuticals and semiconductors starting as early as the end of this month. The tariffs are expected to start low and increase to higher rates after a certain period.
According to the White House press pool, Trump revealed this plan after finishing his schedule in Pittsburgh and returning to Washington on the 15th (local time), where he spoke with reporters. He noted, "The tariffs will probably start around the end of this month," adding, "We will start with low tariffs and provide about a year of grace period for pharmaceutical companies to establish production facilities in the U.S." He emphasized a phased increase stating, "We will impose very high tariffs afterward."
Tariffs on foreign semiconductors will also be applied in a manner similar to pharmaceuticals. Trump added in response to related questions that "it's similar to (pharmaceuticals)" and that "semiconductors are less complex."
Trump also stated that he plans to apply a reciprocal tariff of slightly over 10% uniformly to so-called "small countries" in Africa and near the Caribbean. He said, "I will soon send a letter specifying the tariff rates to those countries."
Earlier, Trump announced that starting from the 7th, he has notified 25 economic entities (24 countries + European Union) of reciprocal tariffs beginning with Korea, Japan, and 14 other countries, and has indicated that tariffs will be imposed starting on the 1st of next month. On this day, he reaffirmed the schedule, stating that negotiations are ongoing with 5 to 6 other countries in addition to the trade agreements already completed with the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
References to Ukraine followed. Trump mentioned, "Weapons to be provided to Ukraine have already started being shipped," explaining that the expense will be borne by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries. Furthermore, he reiterated that "there will be no deployment of U.S. troops to Ukraine," confirming his previous stance.
Regarding interest rate policy, Trump viewed a report suggesting that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is being considered as a successor to Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, whose term ends in May of next year, as a possibility that "could be one of the options, but he enjoys working now," downplaying the likelihood.
As for nuclear negotiations with Iran, he stated, "We have already destroyed (Iran's) nuclear facilities," implying that there is no rush to resume talks.