Trump Announces 100% Tariffs on Branded Drugs and 50% on Kitchen Cabinets, Effective in Six Days

In a series of Truth Social posts on September 25, 2025, Trump announced four new product-specific tariffs to take effect on October 1: 100 percent on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, 25 percent on heavy trucks made outside the United States, 50 percent on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and 30 percent on upholstered furniture. He said drug manufacturers would be exempt if they had begun construction on a U.S. manufacturing facility. The measures were framed as Section 232 national-security actions, but no Federal Register notices implementing them had been published at the time of the announcement.

Announcing tariffs of this magnitude by social media post, with a six-day runway and an exemption defined only as having "started" construction, leaves importers, customs brokers and manufacturers to guess at scope, product classification and eligibility. A 100 percent duty on branded medicines also carries direct consumer exposure in a category where substitution is limited by patent, which is why the exemption's undefined terms drew immediate questions from trade counsel.

The formal proclamations followed, and the pharmaceutical tariff was subsequently narrowed by a series of company-specific arrangements and country exemptions before broad brand-name drug duties took effect in 2026.