President Donald Trump announced his newest round of tariffs set to take effect on Oct. 1 in a series of Truth Social posts Thursday evening.
The tariffs will target pharmaceuticals, home goods and heavy trucks, and Trump said he believes the move will strengthen U.S. manufacturing and protect national security.
In one post, he declared that branded and patented pharmaceutical products will face a 100% tariff unless the company is actively building a plant in the United States. He went on to define that as breaking ground or under construction.
His reasoning is that the measure will force drugmakers to shift production to American soil.
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Trump also announced plans to stop the “flooding” of imports that threaten American manufacturers by imposing a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and related products, and a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture.
“The reason for this is the large scale ‘FLOODING’ of these products into the United States by other outside Countries. It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president wrote.
He also said he will impose a 25% tariff on heavy trucks built outside the U.S., a move aimed at shielding domestic companies such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner and Mack Trucks.
“In order to protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition, I will be imposing, as of October 1, 2025, a 25% Tariff on all ‘Heavy (Big!) Trucks’ made in other parts of the World,” the post said.
BESSENT DEFENDS TRUMP’S TARIFFS AGAINST CLAIMS THEY HARM US BUSINESSES
The announcement underscored Trump’s push to frame trade policy not just as an economic lever, but as a matter of national security.
“We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!” he wrote.
Trump argues that the tariffs are essential to U.S. manufacturing and “national security,” although economists have warned the measures could raise consumer prices as well as escalate tensions.
In a February Q&A, Brown University Professor of Economics Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan argued: “American consumers will get hurt … They either have to get ready to buy things more expensively, look for alternatives, or decrease their consumption.”
Dallas Federal Reserve President Lorie Logan said in comments prepared for a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics event on trade and immigration that tariff increases “could significantly increase both inflation and unemployment.”
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