Trump announces plan for ‘major’ tariff on pharmaceutical imports

Trump did not provide specific details on the scale or timeline of the proposed pharmaceutical tariff.

US President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, said his administration would soon announce a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports, aimed at encouraging drug manufacturers to shift operations back to the US.

Speaking at an event hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee, Trump said the move is intended to reduce American dependence on foreign drug supplies and revitalise domestic pharmaceutical production.

“We’re going to be doing something very big on drug imports — a major tariff is coming,” Trump told the audience. “We want these companies to make their products here, in America, not in China or elsewhere.”

“Once we do that, they’re going to come rushing back into our country, because we’re the big market,” Trump noted. “The advantage we have over everybody is that we’re the big market.”

He did not provide specific details on the scale or timeline of the proposed pharmaceutical tariff.

While Trump did not mention any specific countries from which the US imports pharmaceuticals, previous trade policy moves under his administration had focused heavily on China and India — both major suppliers of generic drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients to the US.

Earlier on March 24, Trump had said, “We’ll be announcing pharmaceuticals at some point in the not too distant future. We don’t make pharmaceuticals anymore and if we have problems like wars or anything else, we need steel, we need pharmaceuticals.”

Trump has long criticised the US’ dependence on foreign-made drugs and has repeatedly promised to use tariffs to reverse that trend. His administration is reportedly considering using Section 232 powers — which allow tariffs on imports deemed a threat to national security — to introduce the levies, although a formal investigation, required before implementation, has not yet been initiated.