Pharmaceuticals tariffs up next: Donald Trump's big announcement amid market turmoil

Former President Donald Trump announced a major new tariff on pharmaceutical imports to encourage drug manufacturers to return to the U.S.

On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump revealed that the United States is preparing to roll out a “major” new tariff on pharmaceutical imports, per Reuters.

President Donald Trump announced his latest and most sweeping round of tariffs on April 2. (AP)

While speaking at a National Republican Congressional Committee event, Trump said the move is designed to encourage drug manufacturers to bring their operations back to American soil.

“We’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals. And when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places, because they have to sell,” he told the audience.

Pharmaceuticals were notably left out of Trump’s dramatic ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcement last week. However, the New York Times predicted last week that ‘Trump’s Next Tariffs Target Could Be Foreign-Made Medicines.’

The announcement introduced a blanket 10% tariff on all imports and targeted levies of up to 50% on goods from 60 countries.

“The pharmaceutical companies are going to come roaring back. They’re coming roaring back, they’re all coming back to our country because if they don’t, they got a big tax to pay,” Trump declared during a previous Rose Garden event, calling the levies “reciprocal tariffs.”

Trump hinted at just how steep the pharmaceutical tariffs could be

Back in February, he floated figures of “25 per cent and higher,” warning they could rise “very substantially higher over the course of a year.”

However, Trump added he’s willing to give companies a window to move operations stateside, noting, “when they come into the United States and they have their plant or factory here, there is no tariff.”

Morningstar reported the US imported about $200 billion worth of pharmaceutical products in 2024 — more than twice what it exported. A 10% tariff alone could mean a $20 billion burden across the sector, with top companies potentially facing $1 billion in annual duties.

Markets have already taken a major hit in the wake of Trump’s broader tariff rollout — with drops not seen since the COVID-19 market panic in March 2020. But the former president appears unfazed.

Trump doubled down on his controversial economic strategy, calling his tariffs “legendary” in front of the same audience and touting, “I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my a**. They are. They are dying to make a deal.”