President Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose up to 200 percent tariffs on pharmaceutical products imported into the U.S. “very soon.”
“If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country, the drugs and other things into the country, they’re going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 percent,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.
Trump said any tariffs would not take effect immediately.
“We’re going to give people about a year, year and a half, to come in, and after that, they’re going to be tariffed,” Trump said. “We’ll give them a certain period of time to get their act together.”
Speaking on CNBC after the meeting, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said more details will likely be announced at the end of the month, once a probe into the issue is completed.
“With pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, those studies are being completed at the end of the month, and so the president will then set his policies then, and I’m going to let him wait to decide how he’s going to do it,” Lutnick said.
The White House in April launched an investigation into the effects of importing pharmaceuticals on national security.
The White House previously pledged to impose steep tariffs and later backed off, so Trump’s words Tuesday are far from the end of the matter.
Drug companies have said the industry is bracing for chaos in case Trump follows through on his threats. Tariffs would disrupt international supply chains, forcing companies to decide whether to pass on increased costs to patients and exacerbate existing drug shortages.
The administration wants more drug companies to onshore their manufacturing, but experts said such a process would take years, while the pain from tariffs could be much more immediate.
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