So it wasn’t all that surprising when former President Donald Trump jumped on CNBC to lay out his “big, beautiful changes.” His goal? To lower drug prices in the United States. He invoked the “most favored nations” policy, which he claims will create a “tremendous impact on the price of medicine.” This is not merely an old man’s gaffes. Lastly, he wants to make it more appealing for pharma companies to locate their manufacturing here in the U.S.—an industry that’s seen its manufacturing base decimated over the last several decades.
On August 1, these bid Trump’s 17 large pharma manufacturers. He strongly encouraged them to act quickly and bring drug prices down before Congress returns on September 29th. These steps include a commitment to provide a full portfolio of existing medicines at the lowest prices offered in other developed nations to every Medicaid patient in the U.S.
As a cost containment measure, Trump has proposed huge tariffs on drugs imported from abroad. Earlier this summer, he threatened to slap tariffs at levels of up to 200%. He then suggested that these tariffs could eventually reach 250%. The proposed tariffs would be meant as a financial disincentive for firms not to produce drugs in the U.S.—but, of course, there’s more.
Just last month, the Trump administration initiated a Section 232 investigation into pharmaceutical products. They intended to determine if these tariffs were genuinely needed. During his interview, Trump emphasized the importance of domestic production, stating, “We want pharmaceuticals made in our country.” He says he will begin with a “modest tariff. That might go to 150% and then it could go up to 250% within a year or year and a half.
As he claims, measure would help American consumers by reducing drug prices. The pharmaceutical industry is highly concerned about the administrators’ possible unintended consequences. Representatives from the industry cautioned that steep tariffs would result in sharply increased costs for consumers. They argue that these tariffs would discourage investments in the U.S. and upend the current drug supply chain.