US to impose 100% tariff on imported branded drugs

United States President Donald Trump has announced a new trade policy that will impose a 100 percent tariff on patented and branded pharmaceuticals imported into the United States, effective October 1, 2025.

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing official statements and Trump’s posts on social media.

According to the American president, the new tariffs will not apply to pharmaceutical products that are already being manufactured or are being deployed in the United States. This approach, according to the administration, should encourage global pharmaceutical companies to transfer production facilities from abroad to the United States.

In addition to tariffs, the US government has made an additional requirement for companies to voluntarily reduce the prices of medicines purchased by the state to a level that corresponds to the lowest international prices by the end of September 2025.

The announcement of the tariffs has already caused a decline in stock prices on Asian exchanges. The most significant drop was recorded in the pharmaceutical sector – shares of companies from Japan, South Korea and Australia lost value.

Companies that do not currently have production in the US may be subject to restrictions. In particular:

Novo Nordisk (manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy in Denmark)

Eli Lilly (Mounjaro – manufacturing stages in Ireland)

Johnson & Johnson (Stelara – Switzerland, Darzalex – Denmark)

Bristol-Myers Squibb (Opdivo – Ireland, Switzerland)

Novartis (Cosentyx and Entresto – Switzerland)

These companies will need to document the presence or construction of factories in the US, otherwise their drugs will automatically fall under the new tax conditions.

Some manufacturers have already announced expansions in the U.S., with Novo Nordisk building a new plant in North Carolina and Eli Lilly planning to build four manufacturing facilities in different states.

The Trump administration is using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which allows tariffs to be imposed without congressional approval if imports are deemed to pose a threat to national security. This mechanism has previously been used to impose tariffs on steel, aluminum and motor vehicles.

In addition to the pharmaceutical sector, the US is preparing additional customs measures regarding:

semiconductors

critical minerals

robotics

medical equipment

Starting next week, tariffs will also be introduced for other groups of goods:

25% duty on heavy trucks

50% off kitchen cabinets and bathroom furniture

30% off upholstered furniture

As a reminder, the US Federal Trade Commission has ruled to block the entry into force of global import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, stating that the head of state exceeded his authority.

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