Medicines, heavy trucks and furniture: US President Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on a variety of import products from October.
It was initially unclear whether the new regulations on already applicable levies – such as country -specific sentences – are on it. Pharmaceutical products in particular were targeted by the President.
Trump announced late Thursday evening (local time) to raise tariffs of 100 percent on pharmaceutical imports to the United States from October 1. If pharmaceutical manufacturers build a production facility in the United States, they could handle customs, he wrote on his Truth Social platform. Companies that either had already started to start or started building were excluded from the planned surcharges, it continued.
German Pharmaceutical industry crazy
The German pharmaceutical industry in particular had feared tariffs: the United States is its most important export market, almost a quarter of German pharmaceutical exports are going. But the tariffs are also painful for India: the South Asian country primarily exports medicines to the USA.
The German pharmaceutical industry has around 130,000 employees. According to the Federal Statistical Office, goods worth 27 billion euros went to the United States in 2024. The German pharmaceutical industry is therefore much more dependent on the US market than mechanical engineering and the chemical industry. Vaccines were particularly in demand.
The United States is also so important for the German pharmaceutical industry because America is a very lucrative sales market: there is no such strict price tie for medication as in Germany, where the legislator intervenes in the market for prescription drugs.
In the United States, drug prices are usually significantly higher than in other industrialized countries. Trump criticizes this and sees an imbalance in an international comparison. He believes that the Americans also pay for research with the higher prices, from which other countries also benefit.
There will also be new tariffs on other imports from October
But not only pharmaceutical imports should be occupied with new tariffs: from October Trump wants to raise a surcharge of 50 percent on furniture such as kitchen cupboards and bathroom equipment, as he announced in another post.
Upholstered furniture should also be occupied with an inch of 30 percent. Many furniture in the lower price segment comes from Southeast Asia. Trump wants to impose tariffs of 25 percent on large, heavy trucks.
The US President justifies his procedure with “national security”. Trump sees the US economy in great danger because, in his opinion, it has been cheated by other countries for years. With his tariffs – he argues – the domestic economy is strengthened: Because if imports from abroad become more expensive, the population could increasingly choose US products.
Trump was also in the clinch with the EU
Trump also had a trade conflict with the EU. After a month-long argument, he and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen then announced a deal in summer. A basic customs set of 15 percent was set for EU exports to the United States.
It was not entirely clear for European manufacturers of medicines, semiconductors and building woods whether the customs upper limit of 15 percent also applies to them. Car manufacturers also had uncertainty until the end – only on Thursday did it become clear that the tariffs are retrospectively reduced from the EU to the USA. This emerged from a corresponding document in the US trade register.
In the publication of the US Ministry of Trade, numerous products from the EU are listed that are liberated from the tariffs – including aircraft and aircraft parts, chemical pre -products and certain raw materials.
EU car manufacturers still hardly happy with situation
Despite the reduction of customs to 15 percent, the carmakers hardly have a reason to be happy. Because the new duty rate is far larger than the 2.5 percent, which was due before US President Trump’s second take office. In the medium term, industry experts expect production relocations from German car manufacturers towards the USA to avoid tariffs – and thus choose the same way out that Trump had shown pharmaceutical companies on medicinal products at its customs announcement.
As a result, pharmaceutical values are under pressure on Friday. Samsung Biologics in South Korea ultimately fell by 2.15 percent to 1,000,000 Won, Wuxi Biologics in Hong Kong gave up 2.35 percent to $ 39.06. In addition, Daiichi Sankyo lost 1.93 percent to 3,349 yen in Tokyo.
The shares of German truck producers also suffered on heavy trucks on Friday from impending US tariffs. Daimler Truck’s papers dropped almost five percent to the top at the top since the beginning of May. At the end of the trade, they lost 1.75 percent to 35.89 euros, which gave them the bottom of the DAX. Since the end of July alone, Daimler Truck’s shares have lost more than 20 percent in value. So far, there has been a minus of around four percent for 2025, while the DAX has increased by almost 19 percent this year.
For the VW subsidiary Traton’s shares listed in the MDax, on Friday morning, up to three percent went down to a low since the beginning of July. At the time of the XETRA trade, the papers were traded at 27.52 euros. In the previous course, the price decline is one percent compared to an MDAX plus of 17 percent.
According to the market observer Stephen Innes from Spi Asset Management, the commercial conflicts are “less the focus of the concrete details of politics, but rather the additional uncertainty that they bring with them”.
Due to the US tariffs, Jefferies analyst Michael Aspinall expects a short-term falling demand for foreign trucks until it is clear to US customers how the tariffs affect sales prices.
For the JPMorgan expert Akhat Kacker, it is currently still unclear whether the 25 percent customs should apply to all heavy-duty trucks or only for those who do not correspond to the USMCA free trade agreement (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement). Daimler Truck and Truck and Traton, whose production in Mexico is strongly pronounced, would be facing major challenges, the analyst believes. In contrast, the Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo, which mainly has produced in the United States, is better positioned.
EU sees pharmaceutical exports protected against 100 percent-US-tarulades
After the announcement of enormous US tariffs of 100 percent on medicines, the industry in Germany is alerted. The announcement in contradiction to the previous trade agreements between the United States and the EU, which will sew a 15 percent customs limit, explains the association of researching pharmaceutical companies (VFA). The EU Commission also refers to these agreements and an explanation-and makes it clear that it sees the industry protected from the 100 percent tariffs.
Customs of 100 percent – unless it is being built
Trump had announced on Thursday that the United States will charge a 100 percent of 100 percent on all trademark or patented pharmaceuticals from October 1 – unless a company is building its pharmaceutical production in the United States. “Building” is defined as a “start of construction” and/or “in construction”, he added. After the start of construction work, no customs will be incurred for these pharmaceuticals.
Commission refers to explanation
The EU Commission assumes that pharmaceutical exports from Germany and other EU countries will be from the announced tariffs of 100 percent. In the joint declaration of the EU and the United States published in August, it is clearly stated that a customs upper limit of 15 percent also applies to EU exports for the area of the pharmaceuticals, a spokesman in Brussels said. This is a coverage that there are no higher tariffs for European economic actors.
The industry in Germany was still deeply concerned. Before the comment from Brussels, several associations had reacted to Trump’s announcements. The VFA said: “If the plans are implemented as announced from October 1, this would be a hard setback for the pharmaceutical location of Germany and Europe.” The Pharma Germany Association, which claims to represent the interests of around 400 member companies with around 80,000 employees in Germany, spoke of a “massive attack on international trade and security in Europe”. The United States wrote down and squeezed “the economy back into its own country,” explained Dorothee Brakmann, general manager of Pharma Germany.
“New low point” in trade relationships
Wolfgang Große Entrup, general manager of the chemical industry association, spoke of a “new low” for trade relationships with the USA. “If the 15 percent deal does not also apply to pharmaceutical products, it is not worth anything. The EU Commission must now push with a wide cross on the fact that both sides stand for the agreements made. Otherwise this deal can only be history.”
Swiss pharmaceutical industry disappointed
According to the US customs announcement of 100 percent, the Swiss pharmaceutical industry came to medication imports to the USA disappointed reactions. All levers were set to prevent the “paradigm shift”, to raise pharmaceutical products tariffs, said René Buholzer, the managing director of Interpharma, the Association of 23 researching pharmaceutical companies, on Swiss radio SRF.
The second largest Swiss pharmaceutical company, Novartis, was confident that he will not be affected. Trump’s announcement only applies to products from companies that do not produce in the United States. Both Novartis and the Swiss industry leader Roche had already announced large investments in the United States over the next five years in the spring.
Washington / Frankfurt (dpa-AfX)