In the United States, President Donald Trump has announced a new tariff of 100% on branded pharmaceutical imports from companies that are not building manufacturing plants in the US.
On his social media platform Truth Social, President Trump said beginning 1 October, the US will levy a 100% tariff on "any branded or patented pharmaceutical unless a company is building their pharmaceutical plant in America".
He defined building a plant as "breaking ground and/or under construction".
In August, the Trump Administration imposed a 15% tariff on most pharmaceutical exports from the European Union.
Ireland is one of the biggest exporters of pharmaceutical products to the US from the EU, accounting for €33 billion of €120 billion of pharmaceutical exports to the US last year.
President Trump also announced a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanity units, which he said were "flooding into the country", and had to be controlled for "national security" and other reasons to protect the US manufacturing base.
Similar reasons were cited for imposing a 25% tariff on heavy trucks imported into the US market.
