Trump’s Latest Tariff Bombshell: What Just Got Targeted

Washington just fired another trade war volley—and markets are bracing for impact.

The Tariff Hammer Drops

Fresh tariffs slammed key import categories overnight, reshaping global trade flows in real-time. The administration's move targets strategic sectors where domestic producers have lobbied hardest for protection.

Supply Chains Scramble

Importers are already recalculating logistics costs, with some exploring cryptocurrency settlements to bypass traditional banking channels. Because nothing says 'free trade' like using decentralized finance to circumvent government trade barriers—the ultimate financial irony.

Market Reactions Roll In

Commodity prices jerked upward as traders priced in the new friction. Traditional safe havens saw inflows, while crypto markets displayed their characteristic volatility—sometimes hedge, sometimes risk-on bet.

Global Domino Effect

Trade partners promised retaliatory measures within hours. The tit-for-tat escalation threatens to push more commerce toward borderless digital asset settlements—whether regulators like it or not.

Another reminder that while politicians build walls, money always finds a hole in the fence.

Key Takeaways

• President Trump unveiled a slew of new tariffs, including 100% levies on pharmaceuticals imports, though he exempted drug firms already building plants in the U.S.
• He also announced levies on heavy trucks, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and upholstered furniture, widely expanding industry-focused levies he has put in place since taking office this year.

President Donald TRUMP unveiled a slew of new tariffs that include 100% levies on imported pharmaceuticals imports, though he exempted drug firms that are building plants in the U.S. 

Trump also announced levies on heavy trucks, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, and upholstered furniture, expanding industry-focused levies he has put in place since taking office this year. The new tariffs will take effect Oct. 1, he said on his Truth Social platform. 

Why This Matters to Investors

President Trump's trade policy continues to evolve with his latest announcements, which covered companies importing goods including drugs, heavy trucks and furniture. The moves—and the reaction by some stocks to them—were the latest reminder that trade policy can lead to short-term volatility for which it can be hard to prepare, setting aside the eventual effect of negotiations with key trade partners.

Trump's new tariffs on branded or patented pharmaceutical imports didn’t include generic drugs, which according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) make up more than 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S.

"We will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America. 'IS BUILDING' will be defined as, 'breaking ground' and/or 'under construction,'" Trump said. 

Among the drug giants that have announced multibillion-dollar U.S. expansion plans in the U.S. this yea U.K.-based  AstraZeneca (AZN), Switzerland’s Roche and Novartis (NVS), and France’s French drugmaker Sanofi (SNY), along with U.S. drugmakers Eli Lilly (LLY), Maker of weight-loss drug Zepbound, and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

Trump had exempted pharmaceutical imports when he imposed sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs in early April. 

“This announcement is likely to come as a relief to many Biopharma investors, given the preponderance of large caps in the sector have already announced significant investments since the major tariff announcement (2-Apr) and will therefore not be impacted,” Citi analysts said Friday morning. 

Trump said imported heavy trucks will be subject to a 25% duty, citing national security concerns.

“In order to protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition, I will be imposing, as of October 1st, 2025, a 25% Tariff on all 'Heavy (Big!) Trucks' made in other parts of the World,” he wrote. “Therefore, our Great Large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions. We need our Truckers to be financially healthy and strong, for many reasons, but above all else, for National Security purposes!”

Kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities will face a 50% tariff, while upholstered furniture imports will be taxed at 30%, he said, blaming foreign dumping of these products in the U.S. market. “The reason for this is the large scale 'FLOODING' of these products into the United States by other outside Countries,” Trump wrote. “It is a very unfair practice, but we must protect, for National Security and other reasons, our Manufacturing process.”

Shares of several furniture companies and home-furnishings retailers fell Friday.

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