WORLD
President Trump clamps 100% tariffs on patented drugs imported into US
- IBJ Bureau
- Apr 04, 2026
Patented medicines entering the US will face a 100 per cent tariff, with President Donald Trump ordering the long-threatened levies.
But pharmaceutical companies can still avoid the taxes by striking deals with the administration, the White House has said.
The White House has added that the aim of the tariffs is to reduce national security risks by boosting manufacturing of key medicines in the US.
The importance of the move may largely be symbolic at this point, as it does not apply to generic medicines – the most commonly-used medicines in the US.
Many of the biggest drug-makers have also already struck agreements that will allow them to escape the levies, with more expected to do so in the weeks ahead.
“The goal is to bring the rest of the companies to the bargaining table,” notes Sean Sullivan, a professor at the University of Washington and London School of Economics. “It is all about leverage,” he adds.
Companies that commit to launch new manufacturing facility in the US before the end of Mr Trump’s term in January 2029 will face only a 20 per cent tariff on their medicines, the White House said.
The tariff will drop to zero, if the companies strike pricing deals with the government.
In previous agreements, companies have agreed to sell some of their medicines to government health insurance programmes, such as Medicaid, for prices comparable to those in certain overseas markets.
The US will also honour lower tariffs agreed as a part of deals struck last year with key partners, including Europe, Switzerland, the UK, South Korea and Japan.
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