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US President Donald Trump on Thursday night reignited his global trade war with the announcement of sweeping new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, heavy trucks, home renovation fixtures, and furniture — one of the most aggressive protectionist moves of his presidency.
The late-evening declaration marks his toughest trade policy step since April, when he stunned Washington and its allies with reciprocal tariffs targeting nearly every US trading partner.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump revealed that starting October 1, “we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America.”
The move immediately drew backlash from abroad. Australia, which exported an estimated $1.35 billion in pharmaceuticals to the US in 2024, voiced concern. Health Minister Mark Butler said Friday the duties were “not in the American consumers’ interest … particularly given the degree to which their exporters to Australia benefit from that free trade as well.”
Trump also announced a 25% tariff on “all ‘Heavy (Big) Trucks’ made in other parts of the world,” aimed at protecting US-based manufacturers including Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, and Mack Trucks. Shares of foreign rivals such as Sweden’s Volvo and Germany’s Daimler — which owns Freightliner and Western Star — dropped sharply in after-hours European trading. Trump defended the move as necessary “for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”
The tariffs follow a Section 232 investigation earlier this year into imported trucks. The provision gives the president broad powers to restrict imports deemed a national security threat — authority Trump has repeatedly invoked to bolster domestic manufacturing and penalize what he calls unfair foreign practices.
He further expanded the scope of tariffs to home renovation and furniture products, declaring that beginning October 1 the US will impose “a 50% Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities and associated products” and “a 30% Tariff on Upholstered Furniture.”
Industry data highlights the risks: imports, mainly from Asia, made up 60% of all US furniture sales in 2022, including 86% of wood furniture and 42% of upholstered pieces. Shares of Wayfair and Williams Sonoma, both dependent on imports, tumbled after Trump’s announcement.
Economists warned that the sweeping measures could fuel inflationary pressures in the US economy, already sensitive to higher import costs.
The tariffs fit into Trump’s broader push to shift the US away from an import-dependent model toward what he calls a “manufacturing renaissance.” His administration has already imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all countries, with higher rates for nations running large trade surpluses with the US. Additional duties have also been levied on Canada, Mexico, and China, citing issues from fentanyl trafficking to illegal immigration.
How these latest tariffs will be integrated into the existing patchwork of restrictions remains unclear. What is clear is that Trump has doubled down on protectionism — despite warnings from allies, businesses, and investors about the risks to global supply chains and American consumers.
