The Trump administration is preparing to impose new tariffs on branded drugs from pharmaceutical companies that have not struck landmark deals with the president to lower their U.S. drug prices, CNBC has learned.
According to a draft of the document obtained by CNBC, 100% tariffs would be imposed on patented drugs and their active ingredients. But drugmakers have ways to reduce or avoid the levy if they move their manufacturing to the US or are negotiating deals with the administration.
The proposal is not final and it is unclear when the Trump administration might announce it, although some reports indicate it could happen as soon as Thursday.
The plan would represent another shift in Trump’s aggressive trade strategy, more than a month after the Supreme Court struck down a global levy imposed in 2025 that did not include the pharmaceutical industry.
US President Donald Trump (C), with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (R) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jayant Bhattacharya (L), speaks during a press conference about prescription drug prices in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson AFP | getty images
Since November, more than a dozen major drugmakers have been involved Eli Lilly, Pfizer And Novo Nordiskhas struck a deal with Trump to lower prices for new and existing drugs. Those agreements are part of the president’s “most favored nation” policy, which links U.S. drug prices to cheaper drugs abroad, and exempts companies from tariffs for three years.
Drugmakers that have fully executed deals or are currently negotiating with the Department of Health and Human Services will be exempt from the tariffs.
As part of the draft proposal, the administration would impose a 20% tariff on companies planning onshore production, rising to 100% four years from now.
Meanwhile, there are different rates for the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and the UK depending on bilateral deals. According to the draft document, there will also be zero additional charges on generic medicines.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the draft pharmaceutical tariff plan.
The tariffs were imposed following a Commerce Department investigation that determined that certain pharmaceutical imports pose a national security risk to the United States.
Before the historic drug pricing deals, Trump had repeatedly threatened to impose tariffs on pharma imports. Those threats – and efforts to curry favor with the president – ​​spurred a new wave of American manufacturing investment from the pharmaceutical industry. These commitments come at a time when domestic drug manufacturing was significantly reduced.
bloomberg first informed on new pharmaceutical tariffs late Wednesday night.
