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LAST UPDATE | 8 Jul
DONALD TRUMP HAS indicated that his impending tariffs on European pharmaceutical companies could be as much as 200%, while he threatened a 50% tariff on copper.
The Trump administration announced that the deadline for any tariffs to come into effect has been pushed back to 1 August.
“Today we’re doing copper,” the US President told a cabinet meeting, indicating progress in an ongoing probe into imports of the metal.
He also said that Washington would soon make an announcement on pharmaceuticals, broadening the slate of sector-specific levies his administration has imposed since January.
But he said he would allow pharmaceutical manufacturers time to relocate their operations into the United States before rolling out fresh duties.
“We’re going to give people about a year, a year and a half to come in, and after that, they’re going to be tariffed,” Trump said.
“They’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200%,” he added. “We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together.”
Apart from imposing a blanket 10% tariff on almost all US trading partners and threatening higher rates customized to dozens of economies, Trump has also imposed duties on steel, aluminum and autos this year.
Besides copper and pharmaceuticals, he has ordered probes into imports of lumber, semiconductors and critical minerals too that could eventually bring about further levies.
Tánaiste Simon Harris said earlier today that the EU and the US must work “intensively” to get a deal on tariffs in place before the deadline for increased rates, but added he has concerns for the pharma industry.
Before the extension was announced, countries had been working to a Wednesday deadline to make a new deal with the Trump administration.
Speaking on his way into Cabinet this morning, Harris said the pause is a “clear indication” that Trump understands the need to have a trade deal in place.
“We are far too interdependent not to have one. Every single day, more than €4 billion-worth of goods and services are traded across the Atlantic Ocean,” Harris said.
“We need to work now intensively to get an agreement ideally in advance of 1 August, because we’ve been consistent in Ireland. The more quickly we can bring certainty, the better that is for jobs, and the better that is for investment, the better that is for economic sentiment.”
However, Harris said he was concerned in relation the pharmaceutical sector.
The White House confirmed that Trump would be delaying an increase to the baseline 10% tariff rate to next month.
Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“I think there’s a lot of work to be done here in relation to pharma. We obviously have a very big pharma sector in this country. We’ve been a very good home to the pharma industry. They need access to the EU, a market of more than 460 million people.”
The Fine Gael leader said that he has told the Trump administration that “there is a way forward that could be good for the EU and good for the US and pharma”.
He said that while it is “disappointing” no trade agreement has been reached, the decision by Trump shows he is up for making a deal, adding that he wants to see zero-for-zero tariffs in as many areas as possible.
“In all my conversations with European counterparts and my conversations with the US administration, I know there are very, very intense talks under way to get to a point of agreement,” Harris concluded.
“We need to get as many carve outs, I think, in terms of zero for zero in as many areas as possible, and particularly from an Irish perspective, but also from an European economic perspective, we need to see a lot more engagement and clarity around pharma.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he is “hopeful” the EU and the US will reach a landing zone before the deadline passes.
Speaking outside Government Buildings, Martin said: “First of all, we don’t want tariffs, but the United States clearly have issues.
“I welcome the fact that there’s a pause in respect of the European Union, and clearly the European Union, as I suggested when I spoke to President (Ursula) von der Leyen, the European Union is on track for a framework agreement with the United States.”
Martin said that other countries have already received letters, referencing the fact that Trump has informed Japan and South Korea that the US is going to impose 25% tariffs o on both countries.
He expressed hope that “a landing zone” can be reached between the US and the EU due to the “enormous” trade between the two. He also said that any failure to get a headline agreement would have “a disruptive impact on the markets and on the manufacturers of goods in particular”.
“What it suggests really is that there was substantial negotiations on the way, have happened between the US and the EU. They’re not there yet, and we’re not there yet, but I think there’s a prospect that we could be there by 1 August.”
With reporting from Jane Moore and AFP
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