Trump Floats 250% Tariffs on Imported Drugs: “We Want Pharma Made in America”

In classic Trump style, the former president is once again shaking up global trade talk — this time targeting Big Pharma. On Tuesday, Donald Trump told CNBC that tariffs on pharmaceutical imports could eventually hit a whopping 250%, his most aggressive threat to date.

“We want pharmaceuticals made in our country,” Trump said, pushing his America-first agenda into the drug industry.

Trump said the tariff hike will start small, but in “one year, one and a half years max,” he plans to jack it up to 150%, and eventually 250% — all in a bid to bring drug manufacturing back to US soil.

While he didn’t say how small the “small tariff” would be, this marks a big jump from his previous threat of 200% tariffs last month. The industry’s now bracing for impact.

The pharmaceutical world isn’t exactly thrilled. Drugmakers have warned that massive tariffs like this could:

• Jack up prices for patients
• Disrupt already fragile supply chains
• Kill incentive for US investment
• Derail research & development

Basically, it’s the healthcare version of a gut punch.

Meanwhile, many companies — including Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, and AstraZeneca (which just announced a $50 billion US investment) — have been scrambling to keep the White House happy with new domestic manufacturing promises.

Back in April, Trump launched a Section 232 national security investigation into imported pharmaceuticals — the same legal route he used to justify steel and aluminum tariffs. The idea is that relying on foreign-made medicine puts America at risk in a crisis.

The results of that review haven’t been released yet, but Trump’s made it clear: he doesn’t want to wait.

This is all part of Trump’s broader push to cut drug prices. In May, he signed an executive order reviving the controversial “most favored nation” rule — tying US drug prices to cheaper ones abroad. So far, it’s more talk than action, but on Tuesday, Trump said the order will have a “tremendous impact” when fully rolled out.

He’s also pressuring drug companies to drop prices directly. Last week, Trump sent letters to 17 major drugmakers, urging them to match the lowest global prices for every Medicaid patient by Sept. 29.

Pharma tariffs haven’t been formally implemented yet, and Trump has a history of walking back aggressive trade threats. But with the August 12 deadline looming for new trade terms with China and Europe, the pressure is on — and the industry’s watching closely.

If the administration moves forward, it could spark a major shake-up in how drugs are priced, made, and delivered in the US And for consumers? Higher drug prices might be around the corner — at least in the short term.

With input from Reuters and CNBC.