Headlines
Trump says pharmaceutical tariffs could reach 200%
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 8, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 8, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Trump proposes up to 200% tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, giving drugmakers a year to adjust. The move aims to boost U.S. drug manufacturing.
By Andrea Shalal and Michael Erman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he plans to announce tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals which could reach 200% but he would give drugmakers about one year "to get their act together."
"We're going to give people about a year, a year and a half to come in and, after that, they're going to be tariffed," Trump told reporters, speaking at a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House where he also said he planned tariffs on semiconductor imports.
"If they have to bring the pharmaceuticals into the country ... they're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200%. We'll give them a certain period of time to get their act together," he said.
"We're going to be announcing pharmaceuticals, chips and various couple of other things - you know, big ones," Trump told reporters, while announcing a new tariff rate for copper. He did not offer specifics on when the other announcements would come.
The Trump administration launched an investigation into the pharmaceutical industry in April as part of a bid to impose tariffs on the grounds that extensive reliance on foreign production of medicine is a national security threat. Trump has argued that the U.S. needs more drug manufacturing so it does not have to rely on other countries for medicines.
The Commerce Department, which is conducting the investigation, has yet to issue a report.
Details on pharmaceutical tariffs "will come at the end of the month," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC after the Cabinet meeting.
"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.
Drugmakers have argued that tariffs could increase the chance of shortages and reduce access for patients. They have lobbied Trump to phase in tariffs in hopes of reducing their impact and granting them extra time to shift manufacturing.
The companies have global manufacturing footprints, and moving more production to the U.S. involves a major commitment of resources and could take years, they argue.
"Every dollar spent on tariffs is a dollar that cannot be invested in American manufacturing or the development of future treatments and cures for patients," Alex Schriver, spokesman for industry group PhRMA, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington; writing by Susan Heavey and Michael Erman; editing by David Gregorio and Rosalba O'Brien)
President Trump stated that tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could reach as high as 200%.
Trump mentioned that drugmakers would be given about one year to adjust before the tariffs are imposed.
Drugmakers argue that the tariffs could lead to shortages and reduce patient access to medications.
The Commerce Department is conducting an investigation into the pharmaceutical industry, but has yet to issue a report.
In addition to pharmaceuticals, Trump mentioned that tariffs could also apply to semiconductors and other significant industries.
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