Trump Threatens to Raise Pharma Tariffs to 250%

President Donald Trump told Squackbox on Tuesday that planned pharmaceutical tariffs imported into the United States could eventually reach 250%, the highest threat to date, according to CNBC.

He added that he would initially impose "small tariffs" on medicines, then raise them to 150%, then to 250%, within a year or a year and a half maximum.

The president has repeatedly threatened, then changed course on tariff proposals, so there is no guarantee that he will eventually set tariffs on drugs at 250%.

In early July, Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 200% on drugs.

In April, the Trump administration launched a so-called Article 232 investigation on pharmaceutical products, a legal authority that allows the Commerce Secretary to investigate the impact of imports on national security.

The tariffs are an attempt by the president to motivate pharmaceutical companies to move manufacturing operations to the United States at a time when the manufacture of drugs locally has seen a sharp contraction over the past few decades.

Over the past six months, companies such as Ellie Lily and Johnson & Johnson have announced new U.S. investments to strengthen their ties with the president.

“We want the pharmaceutical industry in our country,” Trump told CNBC.

The planned tariffs will deal a major blow to the pharmaceutical industry, which has warned that tariffs could raise costs, hinder investments in the United States, and disrupt the drug supply chain, putting patients at risk. Pharmaceutical companies are already facing the repercussions of Trump's drug pricing policies, which they argue threaten their profits and their ability to invest in research and development.

That includes Trump's executive order in May that revives a controversial plan, a “most-preferred-country” policy, which aims to reduce drug costs by peging the prices of some drugs in the United States to prices much lower abroad.

On Tuesday, Trump told CNBC that he "did" the "most-favoured nation" policy, and that this would have a "huge impact on drug prices." However, Trump has not officially implemented any changes to the executive order.

Last week, Trump sent letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies calling on them to commit to taking steps to reduce the prices of US drugs by September 29. This includes agreeing to provide their entire range of existing drugs at the lowest price provided in other developed countries for each patient benefiting from the Medicaid program, among other steps, while some pharmaceutical companies have announced that they are reviewing messages.