President Donald Trump has unleashed a sweeping new set of tariffs on a wide range of imported goods, igniting debate across industries, global markets, and political circles. Announced on Thursday, September 25, 2025, these tariffs—set to take effect October 1—target everything from pharmaceutical drugs to kitchen cabinets, upholstered furniture, and heavy-duty trucks. The measures, which Trump says are designed to protect American manufacturers from what he calls “large scale ‘FLOODING’” by foreign competitors, have already sent ripples through financial markets and drawn sharp responses from business leaders and policymakers at home and abroad.
Trump’s latest salvo includes a 100% levy on branded or patented drug imports, unless the manufacturer has begun building a factory in the United States. Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities will face a 50% tariff, while upholstered furniture will be hit with a 30% duty. Heavy-duty trucks, meanwhile, are subject to a 25% import tax. The president announced these moves on his Truth Social platform, adding that the measures are meant to shield American producers from “unfair outside competition.”
“It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process,” Trump wrote, as reported by The New York Times. He emphasized that the heavy influx of foreign goods threatens American jobs and industries, and stressed the need for decisive action.
The pharmaceutical industry, in particular, stands to be dramatically affected. According to NPR, the U.S. imported nearly $233 billion in pharmaceutical and medicinal products in 2024. The United Kingdom alone shipped over $6 billion worth of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. last year, with other major exporters including Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. Trump’s order, however, carves out an exemption for companies that are “breaking ground” or “under construction” on American manufacturing plants. This provision, as The New York Times notes, has prompted a flurry of announcements by major drugmakers—such as Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Roche, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, and Gilead Sciences—about new or expanded U.S. facilities.
Despite these carve-outs, the pharmaceutical sector is bracing for turbulence. Shares in Asian drug companies tumbled after the announcement, with Japan’s Topix Pharmaceutical Index dropping 1%, Hong Kong’s innovative drug index down 2.8%, South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals falling 2.7%, and Australia’s CSL sliding 1.6%, according to Deutsche Welle. An index tracking Chinese furniture manufacturers also dipped by 1.1%, reflecting broader market unease about the tariffs’ global reach.
Industry groups and trade experts have voiced serious concerns. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged the White House to reconsider, noting that many truck parts come from close allies like Mexico, Canada, Germany, Finland, and Japan. “All of which are allies or close partners of the United States posing no threat to US national security,” the Chamber emphasized, as cited by the BBC. Deborah Elms, a trade expert at the Hinrich Foundation, warned that while the new tariffs may benefit some domestic producers, “they are terrible for consumers as prices are likely to rise.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has also weighed in, warning that the tariffs could drive up inflation. “We have begun to see goods prices showing through into higher inflation,” Powell stated at a recent press conference, highlighting that higher costs for goods account for “most” or potentially “all” of the increase in inflation levels this year. Trump, for his part, has dismissed such concerns, insisting, “There’s no inflation. We’re having unbelievable success.” But economic data tells a more nuanced story: since April, manufacturers have cut 42,000 jobs and builders have downsized by 8,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The new tariffs are being implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a national security provision previously used by Trump to impose duties on steel, aluminum, cars, and copper. This move comes as the administration faces legal challenges to broader global tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Supreme Court is set to hear a case on the matter in November, and if it rules against the administration, the Section 232 tariffs could remain in place even if other levies are struck down.
Impact on consumers and industries is expected to be wide-ranging. The housing sector, already grappling with high mortgage rates and tight inventories, could see further cost pressures as tariffs on cabinetry and furniture take hold. The National Association of Realtors reported an 11.7% increase in sales listings in August, but the median price for an existing home remains a hefty $422,600. “The new tariffs could further increase the costs for homebuilders at a time when many people seeking to buy a house feel priced out,” NPR observed.
For the trucking industry, the effects may be more muted. Most heavy-duty trucks sold in the U.S. are built domestically, often under brands owned by European companies like Daimler Truck and Volvo Trucks. The American Trucking Associations pointed out that “heavy-duty tractors bought by U.S. carriers only come from two places: the United States and Mexico.” Still, Trump’s move is intended to protect American firms such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others from what he calls “the onslaught of outside interruptions.”
Pharmaceutical companies are not the only ones lobbying for relief. The broader drug industry, represented by PhRMA, has argued that the tariffs could jeopardize planned investments in U.S. manufacturing. “Tariffs risk those plans because every dollar spent on tariffs is a dollar that cannot be invested in American manufacturing or the development of future treatments and cures,” said Alex Schriver, a spokesman for PhRMA, in a statement to The New York Times.
There are, however, some signs that the most severe impacts could be blunted. Trade deals secured in July between the U.S. and the European Union cap tariffs on certain products—such as brand-name medicines—at 15%, and Trump’s administration has said that Section 232 tariffs would not stack on top of those rates. Still, much remains unclear, including whether all brand-name drugs will be exempt and how the rules will be applied in practice.
Trump’s reliance on tariffs as a foreign policy and economic lever is nothing new. He has long argued that such measures force companies to invest in U.S. factories and jobs, and he has used them to renegotiate trade agreements and extract concessions from trading partners. Yet the evidence on job creation is mixed, and critics say the costs are likely to be borne by American consumers and businesses through higher prices and supply chain disruptions.
As the legal and economic battles over tariffs continue, Americans from Main Street to Wall Street are left to wonder how these sweeping changes will play out in their daily lives. For now, uncertainty reigns—and the only certainty is that the debate over tariffs, trade, and the future of American manufacturing is far from over.
