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President Trump Announces 100% Tariffs on Branded or Patented Pharmaceuticals
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Key Takeaways
- President Trump demands increased U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing, threatening 100% tariffs on non-domestic products by October 2025.
- Some pharmaceutical companies have announced significant U.S. investments, but Trump is dissatisfied with the industry's progress.
Companies that have broken ground or begun construction on US manufacturing sites will be exempt from these tariffs.
President Trump will implement 100% tariffs on branded or patented pharmaceuticals unless certain requirements are met.
President Trump has issued yet another ultimatum on the pharmaceutical industry.
During the first year of his term, President Trump has made it clear that he wants the pharmaceutical industry to rely less on importing goods. Instead, he wants the industry to build up its domestic manufacturing capabilities. Alongside this objective, he is also issuing orders intended to impact pharmaceutical pricing.
What pharmaceutical products is President Trump imposing 100% tariffs on?
These issues are interconnected and will likely have an impact on each other.
So far, multiple pharmaceutical companies have announced plans to invest in US manufacturing capabilities and plans to either construct new facilities or expand existing ones. However, based on his most recent comments, it appears that President Trump is unhappy at the pace at which these plans are moving.
On Truth Social, President Trump wrote (this quote has been edited for grammar and style from its original source),1 “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% tariff on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, unless a company is building their pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in America. “Is building” will be defined as breaking ground and/or under construction. There will, therefore, be no tariff on these pharmaceutical products if construction has started. Thank you for attention to this matter!”
This is one of the most direct statements the President has made regarding tariffs on pharmaceuticals. Earlier this year, he announced broad plans for tariffs on all imports, although pharmaceuticals were one of only a few exemptions he made at the time. However, he also made it clear at the time that he intended to place separate tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
Over recent months, the President has made conflicting statements about the eventual tariffs, at one point suggesting that 200% tariffs could eventually be on the way.
It’s unclear how the pharma industry will react to this ultimatum. Multiple major pharmaceutical companies have announced plans to invest in US manufacturing. GSK recently announced plans for $30 billion in US-based investments. Eli Lilly announced plans to spend $5 billion constructing a site in Virginia, and Johnson & Johnson announced $2 billion to expand an existing site in North Carolina.
This is the first time that the President has expressed frustration at the pace the pharmaceutical industry has reacted to his plans. In late July, President Trump publicly published letters direct to 17 major pharmaceutical companies. In it, he complained about their responses to his previous MFN executive order and claimed that the companies were not offering satisfactory solutions when negotiating with the government. He accused them of “shifting blame” and suggesting policy changes that would result in “billions of dollars in handouts to the industry.”
In the letters, President Trump wrote, “Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients. But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued drug pricing practices.”
At the time, he gave the companies 60 days to negotiate the following details:
- Extend MFN pricing to Medicaid
- Guarantee MFN pricing for newly-launched drugs
- Return increased revenues abroad to American patients and taxpayers
- Provide for direct purchasing at MFN pricing
Sources
- President Donald Trump Truth Social. Truth Social. September 25, 2025. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115267512131958759
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