Trump has announced that within two weeks he will take New duties on pharmaceutical products imported. The president has signed an executive order to relaunch the national production of medicines and explained to journalists that the duties will be announced “in the next two weeks”.
Trump launches the bomb: new pharmaceutical duties are coming
In the last few months Trump had excluded drugs from the last round of general bodies (exemption confirmed in the Fact Sheet of April 2, 2025), but now he has announced an inversion of course. The president spoke of “important” rates on drugs aimed at reporting production in the USA. In particular, he said that “pharmaceutical imports will no longer be saved” from protectionist measures.
At the press conference he returned to the same rhetoric as always insisting on the fact that other countries “are robbing the United States” and that the duties on drugs are necessary to correct commercial imbalance. The administration said that this phase is part of a wider strategy: in addition to the duties, the executive aims to legislate to encourage the local production of essential pharmaceutical components.
Drugs imported into the viewfinder: what the White House plan provides
The executive order signed by Trump on May 5, 2025, as reported by Reuters, indicates an intention of reduce approval times of new pharmaceutical systems US. The FDA is in charge of streamlining checks and collaborating with internal producers, while the EPA will have to accelerate the necessary environmental permits.
These measures do not immediately involve rates, but give aprotectionist imprint to pharmaceutical policy. In a press release from the White House Trump explained that this strategy will serve to “permanently bring our medical supply chains at home”.
In the meantime, an additional week has been extended to implement the other duties (10% basic and 12%/25% additional) on the bulk of the US imports, which for now excluded drugs and other strategic voices.
What could change for the big pharmis
The introduction of duties on drugs would have significant impacts on healthcare costs and companies. An analysis commissioned by the US pharmaceutical industry (Phma) indicates that a duty (it is assumed with the percentages of the first round) of 25% on imported drugs would do rise the costs of medicines in the USA of almost 51 billion dollars a year (about +12.9% on retail prices).
In 2023 the United States imported 203 billion dollars of drugs, 73% from Europe (especially Ireland, Germany, Switzerland). The American pharmaceutical industry already undergoes considerable tariff charges: for example Merck plans to pay 200 million more dollars this year for the duties already introduced. Analysts warn that the new rates would impact consumers and supply chains: many active ingredients come from Asia and Europe, and would also affect the domestic supply chains.
Europe is preparing for the answer: those who lose with US duties on drugs
The prospect of pharmaceutical duties has already aroused protest reactions in Europe. The president of the Ursula von der Leyen commission has warned that the duties “will hit millions of citizens” and will increase “the price of drugs” in Europe.
On April 3, the von der Leyen had defined the Trump duties a “Storm” imminent and announced countermeasures to protect European companies. On the institutional front, Brussels has formally criticized the US investigation on drugs, paying that any rates can aggravate the deficiencies of critical medicines and raise healthcare costs on both sides of the Atlantic.
The consequences for Italy
In Italy, the president of Farmindustria Marcello Cattani warned that the threat of duties is “a concrete risk For our companies and for the entire pharmaceutical supply chain “and would also entail repercussions for American consumers themselves.
The Italian pharmaceutical industry exports every year Over 10 billion dollars of drugs to the USAmostly currently exempt from dice. The concrete application of rates, we assume, by 25% on drugs imported from the USA would therefore entail a aggravation of about 2.5 billion dollars For Italian exports, with chain effects on business budgets and prices.
