President Trump on Tuesday indicated he would unveil tariffs on imports of automobiles, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals in early April, starting at 25 percent.
Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he would likely announce the tariffs on April 2, and he indicated the duty on auto imports would be “in the neighborhood of 25 percent.”
Asked about tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, Trump said it would be “25 percent and higher, and it’ll go very substantially higher over the course of a year.”
“But we want to give them time to come in,” Trump added. “Because as you know when they come into the United States and they have their plant or factory here, there is no tariff. So we want to give them a little bit of a chance.”
Trump has been ramping up his use of tariffs since taking office, despite warnings from many economists that imposing tariffs on imports could lead to higher prices for American consumers.
The president signed off on 25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports earlier this month, but ultimately delayed them for a month after those two countries took actions to address the flow of drugs at the border.
Trump has also imposed tariffs on Chinese imports, along with tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
Last week, Trump signed a memorandum proposing reciprocal tariffs on other countries to match tariffs and duties they place on American goods. Those tariffs will go into effect in the coming weeks, giving other nations a chance to negotiate a deal with the Trump administration.
