More tariff pain could be underway as the United States government revealed it has launched probes into the pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries in the same approach it did with the copper, timber, steel and automotive sectors - all of which now have tariffs implemented or looming on them.
The Trump administration’s Section 232 investigation “includes both finished generic and non-generic drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items”.
The probe will examine specific issues, including current and projected demand for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients in the U.S.
It will also investigate:
- Role of foreign supply chains, particularly major exporters in meeting U.S. pharmaceutical demand
- Concentration on imports from a small number of suppliers and any associated risks
- The possibility of increasing domestic capacity for pharmaceuticals and ingredients
A typical Section 232 investigation takes 270 days before a report is given to the president, yet public comments on the notice are due just three weeks from the official April 16 publication date - indicating the investigation is moving at a pace.
The probe is seen as a precursor to implementing tariffs on the import of goods from certain sectors into America in the same way that it did on the copper and timber industries, as well as imported steel, aluminium and cars - all of which undertake Section 232 investigations.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an ABC News interview on Sunday that while they've just been exempted from steep tariffs on imports from China, smartphones, computers and some other electronics will face separate new import taxes along with semiconductors within the next two months.
Those comments came as Nvidia announced the commissioning of over one million square feet of manufacturing space in Arizona and Texas, where it will build its Blackwell chips and artificial intelligence supercomputers.
The move is part of Nvidia’s US$500 billion, four-year plan to construct AI infrastructure in the U.S.
