President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would announce tariffs on pharmaceutical imports but declined to say whether life-saving drugs would be spared or reveal the exact rates.
He is also open to negotiations that could potentially reduce the new taxes planned for next week, yet he does not expect deals before April 2. Trump told reporters, “I’m certainly open to that, if we can do something, we can get something for it,” Still, he warned that any agreement would happen “probably after” the tariffs take effect, adding that the United States has “been taken advantage of for 40 years, maybe more.”
Trump plans to unveil his reciprocal tariff program on Wednesday. He says it will include strong measures to match other countries’ trade barriers and boost U.S. manufacturing. S
Specific details remain unclear, with conflicting statements on whether the new tariffs will replace or add to existing taxes on targeted goods. This week, he announced a 25 percent duty on automobiles on top of any country-specific levies.
The president suggested that pharmaceutical imports would be next. “It’ll be a certain number that will be enough to get the drugs and the pharmaceutical companies to bring in their product into our country. We never want to have to rely on other countries for that, like we did in Covid,” Trump said.
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