President Trump said Tuesday that he will move forward April 2 with tariffs of roughly 25% on foreign cars and pharmaceuticals but did not specify which nations could be targeted.

“It’ll be in the neighborhood of 25% and higher and it will go very substantially higher over the course of a year, but we want to give them time to come in,” the president said.

He said foreign automakers can avoid the tariff by moving production to the U.S.

“When they come into the United States and they have their plant or factory here, there is not a tariff. So we want to give them a chance,” he said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Since returning to the White House, Mr. Trump has proposed a slew of trade measures. He has already announced plans to impose a 25% tariff beginning March 12 on steel and aluminum, which is also expected to impact the auto industry.

The president has also proposed a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, which supply raw materials and parts. However, he paused those tariffs until March 4 as he negotiates with the countries over drugs and illegal immigrants. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump moved ahead with an additional 10% tariff on China.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.