The Trump administration will hold off on imposing pharmaceutical tariffs Oct. 1 for companies that do not onshore manufacturing or participate in the president’s “Most Favored Nations” pricing initiative, a White House official told Becker’s.
The move marks a departure from President Trump’s original Sept. 25 threat to impose a 100% tariff on branded drug imports from manufacturers without U.S. production facilities, effective Oct. 1.
White House officials pointed to remarks from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Sept. 30 Oval Office briefing, wherein Pfizer announced it would lower U.S. drug prices. At the event, Mr. Lutnick said the administration was “going to let [the talks] play out and finish these negotiations, because they are the most important thing to the American people.”
“So we are standing by and helping and working with them,” Mr. Lutnick added.
The duties have not been formalized, according to an Oct. 1 Politico report.
The administration cited a deal with Pfizer, announced Sept. 30, as a model. Pfizer agreed to invest $70 billion in U.S. manufacturing and join a direct-to-consumer pricing platform, TrumpRx.gov. In exchange, it received a three-year pause on the proposed tariffs.
As part of the deal, Pfizer will offer most medications to Medicaid at the lowest price sold in peer nations. For all consumers, the drugmaker will discount some of its most popular medications by 50% to 100%. Prices via TrumpRx.gov are expected to be up to 80% lower, though the site’s launch date is unclear.
The proposed pharmaceutical tariffs are tied to a national security investigation, launched April 1. The Commerce Department has until late December to complete the review.
