Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 100% on branded prescription drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients imported from abroad.
The administration insists these imports “threaten to impair the national security and economy” — and that the new policy is a “necessary and appropriate” means of addressing that threat.
However, the real danger lies not in foreign drug supply chains but in the soaring costs that will make medicines more expensive and harder to access for American patients.
A recent Gallup poll found healthcare affordability to be the top domestic concern among Americans — with 84% reporting significant worry about the issue across political lines. Additionally, one-third of U.S. adults — approximately 82 million people — have had to skip meals or cut back on utilities and transportation costs to afford care.
Four in ten Americans did not take their prescribed medications last year because of cost concerns. Such medication non-adherence is estimated to cause 125,000 deaths annually and account for one-quarter of all hospitalizations.
While the administration argues tariffs will help reshore pharmaceutical manufacturing and secure drug supply chains, this approach risks severe unintended consequences.
The president has pledged to waive tariffs for companies that agree to “most-favored-nation” pricing agreements with the U.S. government, which require them to accept price controls based on standards in other developed countries. He claims 17 such deals have been reached.
Tariffs will also be reduced to 20% for companies planning to move production domestically, but they will jump back to 100% by 2030.
Even a modest 20% tariff would significantly raise drug prices in the short term. Establishing new pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities within four years is challenging due to stringent safety and quality standards and a shortage of skilled workers. Four out of five manufacturers report existing workforce skill gaps.
Furthermore, most drugs produced in the United States rely on foreign-sourced ingredients. Only 15% of active pharmaceutical ingredients in branded medications sold here are manufactured domestically. Tariffs on imported ingredients would increase production costs across the board, making it more expensive for companies to build new facilities within the U.S.
The policy also threatens America’s leadership in medical innovation. The country accounts for two-thirds of all new medicines introduced between 2011 and 2021. Tariffs would divert resources away from research and development, potentially slowing the introduction of life-saving treatments.
Every dollar spent on import tariffs or building redundant manufacturing capacity is a dollar not invested in developing new therapies. This approach risks weakening the very innovation ecosystem that makes America indispensable to global health.
Instead of strengthening healthcare access or supply chains, these tariffs risk making medicines less affordable and less accessible — and ultimately less secure for patients. They could also slow medical progress by reducing research activity.
Those are results no administration should want.
