Trump government is getting ready to put very high tariffs of 100% on some imported medicines. The idea is to push drug companies to make more medicines inside the United States. The new rules may be announced as early as Thursday, say people close to the matter.
These heavy duties will apply to companies that have not signed deals with the White House. Big firms like Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Novo Nordisk have already agreed to invest more in US factories and reduce prices, so they will escape the toughest tariffs.
Countries that have trade agreements with the US will face lower tariffs. For example, the US–EU deal signed last year in Turnberry limits drug tariffs to 15%. The UK also made a deal to cut tariffs for three years, in return for higher NHS spending on medicines.
The new tariffs come from a national security investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This is different from Trump’s earlier emergency tariffs, which the Supreme Court cancelled in February. By using this legal route, the White House is trying to rebuild its tariff wall and bring medicine production back home.
Global drugmakers now face a clear choice: set up plants in America or pay double duties on their products.
