Washington, July 16 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said his administration might start imposing tariffs on pharmaceutical imports at the end of the month, while noting the timeline for duties on semiconductors was “similar” to that of those on pharmaceuticals.

Trump made the remarks, suggesting that his administration will phase in the tariffs on pharmaceuticals to allow time for companies to construct their production facilities in the United States, reports Yonhap news agency.

“Probably at the end of the month and we are going to start off with a low tariff and give pharmaceutical companies a year or so to build, and then we’re going to make it a very high tariff,” he said during a press availability after returning from a public event in Pittsburgh.

Trump also said his timeline for implementing tariffs on semiconductors was “similar” and that it was “less complicated” to impose levies on chips, without providing additional detail.

Last week, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that the Trump administration will complete its national security probes into semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports at the end of this month — an indication that Trump’s tariff announcements on the imports might be approaching.

Lutnick was referring to the investigations that he initiated in April under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Under the law, the president is provided with authority to adjust imports into the U.S. when he determines they threaten to impair national security.

At a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, Trump said he planned to impose a 50 per cent tariff on copper in the coming weeks, and that he expected pharmaceutical tariffs to grow as high as 200 per cent after giving companies a year to bring manufacturing back to the US.

Trump has already announced investigations under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 on drugs, arguing a flood of foreign imports was threatening national security.

—IANS

na/