Trump eyes 25% tariffs across more sectors

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he intends to impose auto tariffs "in the neighbourhood of 25%" and similar duties on semiconductors and pharmaceutical imports, the latest in a series of measures threatening to upend international trade.

On Friday, Trump said levies on automobiles would come as soon as April 2, the day after members of his cabinet are due to deliver reports to him outlining options for a range of import duties as he seeks to reshape global trade.

Trump has long railed against what he calls the unfair treatment of US automotive exports in foreign markets.

The European Union, for instance, collects a 10% duty on vehicle imports, four times the US passenger car tariff rate of 2.5%. The US, though, collects a 25% tariff on pickup trucks from countries other than Mexico and Canada, a tax that makes the vehicles highly profitable for Detroit automakers.