The pharmaceutical industry avoided immediate tariffs under President Donald Trump’s latest trade actions, though future levies remain a possibility.
Here are four things to know:
- President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs announced April 2, which imposed a baseline 10% duty on all exports to the U.S. and additional duties on about 60 nations with large trade imbalances did not include pharmaceuticals, according to a White House fact sheet.
- The administration, however, is exploring a potential Section 232 investigation into pharmaceutical imports, which could lead to new tariffs under the Trade Expansion Act as it has for industries such as semiconductors and critical minerals, according to an April 2 report from Bloomberg.
- While announcing the tariffs to the public April 2, President Trump stated, “The pharmaceutical companies are going to come roaring back because if they don’t, they got a big tax to pay and if they do, I’ll be very happy.”
- The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has been lobbying the administration to prevent tariffs and CEOs of major drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Pfizer, have met with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago to advocate for the pharmaceutical industry.
