At the dawn of President Donald Trump’s second term, a wave of tariffs swept across the United States, reshaping the economic landscape and sparking fierce debate from coast to coast. These tariffs, which now touch nearly every imported good—from steel and aluminum to pharmaceuticals and furniture—have triggered controversy, legal battles, and uncertainty for American businesses, workers, and consumers alike. As the dust settles, questions abound: Who benefits? Who bears the brunt? And what does this mean for the future of American trade?
According to The Hill, the latest round of tariffs began on April 2, 2025, with modifications following on August 7. The approach was complex: countries that did not run bilateral trade surpluses with the U.S. faced a universal 10% tariff, while those with surpluses were hit with rates of 15-20%. Some nations deemed less cooperative found themselves saddled with tariffs as high as 30-50%. These measures were enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a move a federal court has since ruled was an overstep of executive authority. The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on November 5, with a decision expected before the end of the year.
Yet, President Trump has not limited himself to the IEEPA. As reported by The Hill, the administration has increasingly relied on Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Act, which allows the Commerce Secretary to investigate the effects of specific imports on national security. Under this statute, tariffs have been levied on steel, aluminum, copper, and auto parts. Most recently, sector-specific tariffs were announced: pharmaceuticals (a staggering 100%), furniture (30-50%), and trucks (25%). Investigations are also underway into robotics and medical equipment, signaling that the list of targeted goods may grow even longer.
The impact of these tariffs is already being felt across the country, but nowhere is the anxiety more palpable than in North Carolina. As the Carolina Journal reports, pharmaceuticals have been the state’s top export since 2020 and, as of 2024, its leading import. The numbers are eye-popping: pharmaceutical exports climbed to $7.4 billion through July 2025, a 9% increase over the previous year, while imports soared nearly 90% to $17.6 billion in the same period. “Year-to-date through July, North Carolina’s pharmaceutical product imports have nearly exceeded the state’s total for all of 2024—much of the surge concentrated in January, February, and March, as firms accelerated shipments in anticipation of the federal tariff on pharmaceutical drugs,” said Joseph Harris, a fiscal policy analyst for the John Locke Foundation, in comments to the Carolina Journal.
The 100% tariff on branded pharmaceuticals, announced by Trump in late September and set to take effect October 1, has thrown the sector into turmoil. The policy does not apply to generic drugs, but for large manufacturers like Eli Lilly and GSK, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Both companies have invested heavily in U.S. manufacturing facilities to cushion the blow. Smaller manufacturers, however, who depend on overseas contract production, face a much steeper climb. “The proposed 100% tariff on branded and patented pharmaceutical imports could pose serious economic consequences,” Harris warned. “This issue is especially relevant to North Carolina, where pharmaceuticals are the state’s largest traded sector—both its most significant import and its leading export. The Research Triangle’s concentration of drug manufacturers, suppliers, and research firms means any disruption to pharmaceutical trade could have a pronounced impact on the state.”
The uncertainty is not confined to North Carolina. According to The Hill, global drugmakers are scrambling to ramp up their U.S. manufacturing capacity to avoid the new tariffs, especially as companies based in the European Union, South Korea, and Japan have managed to secure agreements that cap pharmaceutical tariffs at about 15%. Still, the American Enterprise Institute estimates that nearly $250 billion in trade is at risk, warning that the tariffs could lead to higher drug prices, insurance premiums, and even potential shortages. “Tariffs can raise prices on pharmaceuticals and insurance premiums, heighten the potential for drug shortages, increase prices for producers using foreign software systems and reduce the competitiveness of U.S. exports of finished drugs,” their analysis concludes.
Financial markets, for now, have largely shrugged off the impact of the growing number of sectoral tariffs. The U.S. economy has shown remarkable resilience, but the uncertainty is palpable. As Andy Lapierre of Piper Sandler told clients, at the current pace, roughly half of all U.S. imports could soon be subject to Section 232 tariffs. He also noted that this uncertainty is likely to persist, regardless of how the Supreme Court rules on presidential authority under the IEEPA. If the Court limits the president’s power, reciprocal tariffs could be lifted, but sectoral tariffs—those targeting specific products or industries—may remain, creating a new layer of winners and losers and ensuring that trade instability lingers for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the effects of Trump’s trade and immigration policies are rippling through other corners of the American economy. In Las Vegas, for example, the Marketplace reports that tourism—a $2.9 trillion industry nationwide—has taken a hit. Visitor numbers to the city were down 6.7% in August compared to the previous year, with tourism from Canada dropping by 30% over the past two years. The reasons are manifold: tougher border controls, higher entry fees, and the chilling effect of anti-immigrant rhetoric have all played a part. “We’re seeing layoffs,” said Diana Valles, president of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 in Las Vegas. “We’re seeing restaurant closures. People are nervous just to, like, go to the grocery store. Yeah, the people are nervous just to go to church. Even if you are documented … you never know what’s going to happen.”
Local businesses that rely on imports have also felt the sting. Juanny Romero, owner of Mothership Coffee Roasters, lamented the impact of a new 50% tariff on Brazilian coffee. “Oh, my goodness. The majority of coffee is from Brazil,” she said. “And it’s like, just because the president doesn’t like the way the Brazilian president is talking to him, we’re going to impose a 50% tariff and literally change everything overnight.”
For many, the cumulative effect of these policies is a sense of unease and unpredictability. “Any of these things, if it was just one of them, you and I wouldn’t even be talking,” said Jeremy Aguero, an analyst at Applied Analysis. “But the combination of conflict in Washington, D.C.; conflict around the world; the fact that consumers are feeling uncertain—all of that is converging today into this very difficult circumstance that we see ourselves in.”
As the Supreme Court prepares to weigh in and the Trump administration doubles down on its tariff strategy, Americans from factory floors to pharmacy counters, from coffee shops to casinos, are left to navigate an economic landscape that feels as unpredictable as ever. The only certainty, it seems, is that the debate over tariffs—and their far-reaching consequences—is far from over.
