President Donald Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals could eventually reach as high as 250%, marking his toughest tariff threat yet.
He outlined plans to start with a “small tariff” before increasing it within a year to a year and a half to 150%, and potentially up to 250%. Although Trump has previously threatened tariffs as high as 200%, it remains uncertain if these rates will be implemented.
This announcement follows an April investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which empowers the commerce secretary to assess if imports pose a threat to national security.
The administration’s goal is to encourage pharmaceutical companies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., reversing decades of decline. Companies like Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson have recently announced new U.S. investments, aligning with this policy focus.
“We want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” Trump said.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers warn that such tariffs could raise drug costs, deter investment, and disrupt supply chains, potentially harming patients. These concerns add to tensions from Trump’s May executive order reinstating the “most favoured nation” policy, which aims to lower U.S. drug prices by linking them to lower foreign prices.
Trump said he had “invoked” this policy, forecasting it will have a “tremendous impact on the price of medicine,” though no official steps have yet been taken.
Last week, Trump sent letters to 17 drugmakers demanding commitments to lower U.S. drug prices by September 29, including offering medicines to Medicaid patients at prices no higher than in other developed countries. Some pharmaceutical companies are now reviewing these demands.