On Sept. 25, President Donald Trump announced a new set of tariffs targeting pharmaceuticals, heavy trucks, and furniture, saying the import taxes on those products will come into effect on Oct. 1. These tariffs come as the Trump administration continues to take action, aimed at reducing the government’s budget deficit and ramping up the production of products in the United States, rather than relying on imports from other countries.

The tariffs, as cited on Trump’s Truth Social, tax branded or patented pharmaceutical drugs by a rate of 100%, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities by 50%, upholstered furniture by 30%, and heavy trucks by 25%. Trump added one key exemption: pharmaceutical tariffs would not apply to companies “breaking ground” or “under construction” on U.S. manufacturing plants, incentivizing businesses to produce domestically. 

Trump will issue the tariffs under Section 232, which allows for the imposition of tariffs without congressional approval if imports are seen as threatening national security. The reliance on Section 232 comes as he faces legal challenges to other global tariffs imposed under a different emergency powers law.

On Truth Social, Trump justifies his actions by saying there is “large scale FLOODING” of these products into the U.S. by other countries. In addition, he wrote, “It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process.” 

For most Americans, the tariffs will be felt first in the pharmaceutical industry. Branded drugs, which make up a smaller part of prescriptions and are protected by patents, will face extreme price increases. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans imported nearly $233 billion worth of pharmaceutical products in 2024. This tariff could make prices double and make everyday medications unaffordable for many Americans, as well as impact the costs of crucial healthcare resources, such as Medicare and Medicaid. 

Pascal Chan, the vice president for strategic policy and supply chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, warned that the tariffs could harm Americans’ health with “immediate price hikes, strained insurance systems, hospital shortages, and the real risk of patients rationing or foregoing essential medicines.”

Tariffs on heavy trucks will also drive up costs across the country. Ninety-nine percent of the largest, class eight trucks, are manufactured in the U.S., but medium-duty trucks include imported components from Mexico, Canada, Japan, and other countries. Last year, Mexico reported that the U.S. imported almost $128 billion in heavy vehicle parts from Mexico, accounting for approximately 28% of total U.S. imports. 

Trump said that the tariff will protect large truck manufacturers “from the onslaught of outside interruptions.” He also said the move was meant to help make truckers financially healthy. Ultimately, this tariff will only end up raising costs for trucking companies and for consumers who rely on those goods daily.

Homeowners will face the rising costs of upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinetry, and bathroom vanities. Major furniture manufacturers, such as Ikea, will have a hard time keeping their prices down, which could be substantially harmful to their businesses. 

“Our goal is to offer affordable, good-quality home furnishings to everyone,” an Ikea spokesperson said. “In our experience across the markets we operate in, tariffs make these ambitions more difficult.”

Pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, and Roche, among others, are investing and expanding to domestic facilities to avoid the 100% tariff. Companies relocating do this at the cost of facing higher premiums and taxes overall in the U.S., increasing production costs. Also, pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) relies heavily on profits, so increased costs could force companies to divert their funds away from R&D, especially for smaller corporations. Truck manufacturers like Daimler, Paccar, and Volvo point out that 99% of heavy trucks are already built in America, and warn that if tariffs override trade agreements like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, costs could surge.

Trump’s tariffs on these departments may benefit some manufacturers, but for most Americans, they are taxes — raising drug prices, shipping costs, and home expenses. While the administration calls them a defense of national security, in reality, the tariffs are harmful to consumers, global trade, and the U.S. economy.