Speaking to CNBC, Mr Trump laid out plans for a tiered approach, starting with smaller levies before ramping up significantly.

"We'll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one-and-a-half years, maximum, it's going to go to 150%," he said.

"And then it's going to go to 250% because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country," Mr Trump added.

In the same interview, the president said he also intends to unveil new duties on foreign semiconductors.

Both sectors had previously been the subject of national security investigations under his administration, which are now nearing completion and may provide the legal framework for the proposed tariffs.

These latest comments are part of a renewed wave of protectionist trade policy aimed at reducing US dependence on key imported goods, especially from strategic rivals.

Mr Trump has already imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium and introduced targeted levies on vehicles and auto parts.

India is also under threat of higher duties, with Trump citing New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil as justification for upcoming measures.

"I expect to raise the US tariff on Indian imports very substantially over the next 24 hours," he told CNBC.

While a general 10% tariff on nearly all US trading partners was enacted in April, Mr Trump’s strategy has increasingly involved a sector-specific approach, targeting goods that Washington deems sensitive to national security.

The pharmaceutical and semiconductor industries — critical to both public health and technology infrastructure — now appear to be at the center of this escalating trade agenda, raising concerns among global suppliers, including Irish manufacturers with significant exports to the US.