Trump plans a hefty tax on imported drugs, risking higher prices and shortages

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-drug-prices-pharmaceutical-companies-investment-8e8a78b699c8dbe728140ae0815b001c

Trump plans a hefty tax on imported drugs, risking higher prices and shortages
By PAUL WISEMAN and TOM MURPHY
Updated 3:28 AM CDT, September 1, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has plastered tariffs on products from almost every country on earth. He’s targeted specific imports including autos, steel and aluminum.

But he isn’t done yet.

Trump has promised to impose hefty import taxes on pharmaceuticals, a category of products he’s largely spared in his trade war. For decades, in fact, imported medicine has mostly been allowed to enter the United States duty free.

That’s starting to change. U.S. and European leaders recently detailed a trade deal that includes a 15% tariff rate on some European goods brought into the United States, including pharmaceuticals. Trump is threatening duties of 200% more on drugs made elsewhere.

"Shock and awe" is how Maytee Pereira of the tax and consulting firm PwC describes Trump’s plans for drugmakers. "This is an industry that’s going from zero (tariffs) to the potentiality of 200%."

Trump has promised Americans he’ll lower their drug costs. But imposing stiff pharmaceutical tariffs risks the opposite and could disrupt complex supply chains, drive cheap foreign-made generic drugs out of the U.S. market and create shortages.

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