Trump imposes a 50% tariff on copper and may impose a 200% tax on imported drugs one year later

US President Trump said that he would impose a 50% tariff on copper imports, and later also impose taxes on semiconductor and pharmaceutical imports. He also reaffirmed the threat of imposing a 10% tariff on products from BRICS countries.

Reuters reported that Trump opened up media coverage during a cabinet meeting at the White House on Tuesday (July 8). He said that a 50% tariff would be imposed on copper products, expressing his hope to increase the output of US metals, which are crucial for electric vehicles, military hardware, power grids and many consumer goods.

After Trump's speech, the New York copper futures contract soared by 17% at one point, marking the biggest intraday gain since at least 1988.

Trump also said that the tariffs he plans to impose on imported drugs could be as high as 200%, but he will give drug manufacturers at least one year to make adjustments.

We will give these enterprises one to one and a half years to relocate their pharmaceutical factories to the United States. After that, we will impose tariffs on imported drugs.

Trump also plans to impose taxes on imported semiconductors. "We will announce tariffs on medicines, wafers and other bulk commodities."

Trump did not disclose the announcement time of the tariffs on drugs and semiconductors.

In addition, Trump said that the trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union as well as China are progressing smoothly, and indicated that he "might" inform the EU of the expected tariff rates on US exports within two days. The day before, Trump had just sent tariff warning letters to 14 countries including Japan and South Korea, pressuring these countries to reach trade agreements with the United States as soon as possible, otherwise they would face at least 25% high tariffs starting from August 1.

The Trump administration launched an investigation into the pharmaceutical industry in April, citing that excessive reliance on foreign drug production poses a threat to national security. Trump argued that the United States needs to increase drug production so that it does not have to rely on drugs from other countries.

CNBC reported that after the White House Cabinet meeting, US Commerce Secretary Ruttnik disclosed that the Commerce Department has completed an investigation into the copper import situation and he expects that the new tariffs on copper imports "may be implemented at the end of July or on August 1."