President Trump is threatening tariffs again — this time, a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals. This move would drive up the cost of medicine and reduce access to affordable generic drugs. If the administration wants to protect American pharmaceutical supply lines, a better strategy would be to incentivize production in countries other than China.
While some claim tariffs are a tax on foreign businesses, the reality is that tariffs are paid by U.S. businesses and consumers in the form of higher prices. Whether at the pharmacy counter or through higher insurance premiums, patients — not China — will be the ones who pay.
Some supporters of pharmaceutical tariffs are willing to accept that tradeoff, arguing that tariffs will bring pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States, reducing reliance on China and protecting our supply chains from geopolitical threats. Ensuring that no country can hold U.S. patients hostage is a worthwhile goal. Tariffs are the wrong tool for the job.
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Justin Leventhal is a senior policy analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization. For more information about the Institute, visit www.TheAmericanConsumer.Org or follow us on X @ConsumerPal