Medicine import tariffs may go up to 250 pc: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that upcoming tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could eventually rise as high as 250 per cent, as part of his push to bring drug manufacturing back to the United States. 

In an interview with CNBC, Trump said the tariffs would start at a lower rate -- without specifying the exact figure -- and then increase over the next year to 18 months.

"We’ll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it’s going to go to 150 per cent and then it’s going to go to 250 per cent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country," he said.

Trump also revealed plans to impose tariffs on foreign semiconductors and chips "in the next week or so", but gave no further details.

The announcement comes as the US President has been threatening major penalties on the pharmaceutical industry to push manufacturing back home.

He has also recently demanded that major drug suppliers cut costs significantly or face further action.

These fresh tariff threats follow Trump’s hardening trade stance against India. On Monday, he said he would substantially raise tariffs on New Delhi within 24 hours, revising the previously announced 25 per cent rate.

Trump accused India of buying large quantities of Russian oil and reselling it for profit, claiming it fuels Moscow’s war machine.

India has dismissed the US President’s allegations, calling the targeting "unjustified and unreasonable".

The Ministry of External Affairs said that India will take all necessary steps to safeguard its national interests and economic security.

Russia has also criticised Trump’s remarks, describing US pressure tactics as “illegitimate” and backing India’s right to choose its own trade partners.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov stressed that sovereign nations must decide for themselves with whom they engage in trade and economic cooperation.

Picture Courtesy: IANS