President Donald Trump has said more products need to be produced in the United States, so it is prepared in case of “war.”
There are fears of a recession around the world with Trump's crackdown on imports.
It is believed to be part of his plan to ramp up domestic manufacturing and have more goods made in America.
In his latest explanation of the tariff policy, Trump claimed it was necessary to deal with any future war.
Trump made the comments on Air Force One while talking about possible pharmaceutical tariffs on Sunday.
He said: “We're going to have our drugs made in the United States.
“So that in case of war, in case of whatever, we're not relying on China and various other countries, which is not a good idea.”
Trump put a 90-day pause on many of his on-again, off-again reciprocal tariffs, but left in place a 145% import tax on goods from China.
In response, Beijing suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world's car, semiconductor and aerospace industries.
