Trump says he will announce tariffs on cars, chips, pharmaceuticals 'over next month or sooner'
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside the Chairman of the FII Institute Executive Committee Richard Attias during the FII PRIORITY Miami 2025 Summit (Future Investment Initiative) at the Faena Hotel & Forum in Miami Beach, Fla., Feb. 19. AFP-Yonhap
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will announce tariffs on cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals "over the next month or sooner" as he is pushing for new levies to shrink America's trade deficits, boost domestic manufacturing and achieve other policy goals.
Trump has already announced a plan to start imposing 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on March 12, and is seeking to slap "reciprocal" tariffs on U.S. imports in addition to his push for duties on cars, chips and other items.
"I am going to be announcing tariffs on cars and semiconductors and chips ... drugs and pharmaceuticals and lumber, probably, and some other things over the next month or sooner," he said during a forum hosted by the Future Investment Initiative Institute. "It's going to have a big impact on America.
He reiterated that companies that do not manufacture their goods in America will face tariffs.
"We're bringing our businesses back. If they don't make their product in America, then very simply, they have to pay a tariff," he said.
"If they do make their product in America, they don't have to pay any tariff, which will bring ... It's all going to bring trillions of dollars into our treasury or it's going to mean that there won't be any taxes because we want to have a fair base."
Trump's tariff-related announcements have been keenly watched by policymakers in Seoul amid concerns that Asia's fourth-largest economy could be put into his administration's crosshairs given that South Korea's trade surplus with the U.S. reached $55.7 billion last year. (Yonhap)