Trump’s new big tariff move : NPR
President Trump and his administration have studied new sectoral prices that could cover a large part of the American economy.
Ailsa Chang, host:
President Trump recently made a lot of pricing attracting attention, announcing prices from country by country via letters on social networks, prices that US companies and consumers will eventually pay. But this is only part of its strategy. The correspondent of the White House NPR, Danielle Kurtzleben, reports another growing set of potential rates.
Danielle Kurtzleben, Byline: You may have missed some of Trump’s recent price threats, as sooner this week, when he told journalists under the wing of the Air Force One to priced pharmaceutical products.
(Soundbit of archived registration)
President Donald Trump: And we will start with a low rate and give pharmaceutical companies for about a year to build, then we will make a very high rate because …
Kurtzleben: Meanwhile, the trade department has announced that they were examining more new prices on drones and polysilicon, which is used in solar panels and semiconductors. In general, Trump imposes two different sets of prices, authorized by two different laws. A set includes the prices he announces in these country letters by country. But there are then these other prices on various products, such as pharmaceutical products. These are known as the tariffs of article 232, named after a part of a commercial law of 1962. And Trump used a lot of section 232. Here is Tim Keeler, a trade lawyer who served at the office of the American commercial representative under President George W. Bush.
Tim Keeler: Its use could be quite characterized as a revolutionary in its first mandate. He had really not been used much before his arrival at the office.
Kurtzleben: The first step to impose one of these prices is a survey of the trade department. Before Trump, the last survey of this type was in 2001. A key subject of these surveys is national security. According to the law, the prices of article 232 are supposed to help strengthen national security. However, not everyone thinks that Trump’s prices will do. Ed Gresser is at the Policy Progressive Institute and worked for the US trade representative under President Joe Biden.
Ed Great: I think that the argument that it is important to have a healthy steel and aluminum industry in the United States is respectable. But the argument that you can create this through prices has fairly serious flaws.
Kurtzleben: A more effective way to stimulate a national industry, he says, is through subsidies. Grasser also notes that ships and planes are important for national security, and 232 steel and aluminum prices make the most. In addition, the taxation of prices on goods everywhere could be actively bad for national security.
Jake Colvin: If we can all agree that derisory and diversifying China is a priority for national security, then we should develop much stronger relationships with our allies.
Kurtzleben: Jake Colvin is president of the National Foreign Trade Council.
Colvin: At the same time, we are now putting prices on steel and aluminum of our friends and allies, with whom we should really work with to strengthen our economy.
Kurtzleben: The Trump administration, for its part, says that national manufacturing is better for national security than counting on other countries. Great, at the progressive Policy Institute, calculates that the prices of article 232 would apply to around 30% of imports. It is less than the 70% that country prices per country would cover, but …
Great: they are always very large and they can be widened. You can deposit more of these cases.
Kurtzleben: In addition, the 232 prices could be safer, legally speaking. Earlier this year, a federal court judged that country prices by country were illegal. The Trump administration appeals to this decision, and for the moment, these prices are still in place, set at 10% and should increase on August 1. According to Keeler, the commercial lawyer, 232 prices have already been tested.
Keeler: They were disputed in court by several different facets, all of which were confirmed at the level of the federal circuit.
Kurtzleben: All this underlines a common criticism of Trump’s tariff approach – that it is too wide. Here is Colvin with the National Foreign Trade Council.
Colvin: The real challenge in the current environment is that we see prices like a hammer and each problem with our allies and adversaries, whether economical or not, like a nail.
Kurtzleben: There are currently nine investigations on article 232 in progress, which could become new prices on more goods. Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR News.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit the pages of use of the conditions of use of our website on www.npr.org for more information.
The accuracy and availability of NPR transcriptions may vary. The transcription text can be revised to correct errors or match audio updates. Audio on npr.org can be published after its original broadcast or publication. The file authorizing the NPR programming is the audio recording.
