US President Donald Trump will soon announce a “major” tariff on imported pharmaceuticals, which is a move to finish decades of cheap global trade in decades of medicines.
For many years, most countries, including the United States, have rarely imposes tariffs on the completed drugs thanks to the 1995 World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement to maintain medicines at low prices.
This change occurs after Trump introduced a 10% tariff on other income last week as part of a wider effort to make manufacturing again to the United States last week.
His new “mutual” tariffs, including 104%of the duty of goods arrived in China, came into force on Wednesday to strengthen the global trade war and further shaken the market.
Pharmaceutical buyers who have saved in such measures are now preparing for the next time.
The United States generally imported a huge amount of complete drugs in India, Europe and China without buyers paying tariffs.
Trump speaks at the Republican fundraising dinner on Tuesday, saying, “We will almost announce the main tariffs on pharmaceuticals, and when they do them, they will leave China.”
He also told the Air Force 1 Airplane boarding reporters that “pharmaceuticals” would be announced in the near future.
In 2024, the United States imported more than 2.5 times more than $ 213 billion (£ 16.8 billion) of drugs 10 years ago.
The details are short, but his opinion is less than the buyer, especially Indian imports. India can save billions of dollars of medical costs by supplying almost half or cheap version of the US generic.
Indian pharmaceutical stocks dropped sharply to the news. India sends about one -third of the annual pharmaceutical exports of $ 13 billion to the United States. This is the main market.
At present, Americans are rarely paid for the import of Indian pharmaceuticals. When the Indian compares almost 11%of the duty that the Indians imported US pharmaceuticals.
Indian pharmaceuticals warned that tariffs would be forced to raise prices and ultimately lead to US medical expenses. Companies such as CIPLA and Dr. Reddy have American plants, but most movements say that it is impossible to produce low -cost generic drugs.
European pharmaceuticals are also wary. On Tuesday, after a high -level meeting between the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen and the top pharmaceutical companies, the European Pharmaceutical Industry and the Association (EFPIA) warned that tariffs could move from Europe and the United States.
EFPIA, which includes major pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer, Novartis, and novo nordisk, expressed concern that Novo Nordisk, a manufacturer of Star Diabetes Type 2 Drug Ozemic, can interfere with Europe in global pharmaceutical production.
In 2024, the pharmaceutical was worth $ 127 billion ($ 100 billion) as the largest export of the EU to the United States.
Major companies urged the EU to act quickly, and pursued a policy change to improve Europe’s competitiveness and prevent “bulk exodus” against the United States. He also expressed concern about potential EU retaliation tariffs that interfere with the supply chain and affect both patients on both sides of the Atlantic.
Global pharmaceutical giants like GSK and PFIZER are operated in many countries, including Ireland and Germany, so new tariffs can interfere with various parts of the supply chain.
