President Donald Trump previewed on Tuesday evening that the pharmaceutical industry will be the next to face a “major” tariff.
“We’re going to tariff our pharmaceuticals. And once we do that, they’re going to come rushing back into our country, because we’re a big market. The advantage we have over everybody, is that we’re the big market,” Trump said on Tuesday evening during the National Republican Congressional Committee’s annual presidential dinner.
“So we’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals. … And when they hear that, they will leave China, they will leave other places, because … most of their product is sold here, and they’re going to be opening up their plants all over the place in our country. We’re going to be announcing that,” he continued, calling the announcement “breaking news.”
Trump has been on a tariff blitz since his inauguration, unveiling his highly-anticipated “Liberation Day” tariff plan on April 2 that leveled customized tariffs on nations that historically installed trade barriers on the U.S. and a 10% baseline tariff on other nations.
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The administration has said the plan will lower the U.S. trade deficit and result in trillions in funds raised, which will help fund lower taxes on Americans and encourage businesses to move to the U.S. to avoid the tariffs, which the administration says will rally the U.S. job market.
Trump railed that the U.S. has been left purchasing expensive pharmaceuticals from overseas nations, while other countries purchase the same drugs from the same pharma plants at lower prices.
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“We don’t make our own pharmaceuticals, drugs and other things to get better. They’re made in other countries and you pay a number. I mean, the same package in our country compared to like London and other places is sometimes 10 times more, 10 times more. Something that sells for $88 in London, sells for $1,300 here, made in the same factory by the same company. And that’s over,” he said.
“These other countries are smart. They say you can’t charge more than $88, otherwise you can’t sell your product,” he added.
Trump slammed pharmaceutical companies that have moved overseas in recent days, including in March when he hosted Irish premier Micheál Martin.
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“The Irish are smart, yes, smart people,” Trump said. “You took our pharmaceutical companies and other companies … This beautiful island of 5 million people has got the entire U.S. pharmaceutical industry in its grasps.”
“When the pharmaceutical companies started to go to Ireland, I would have said that’s OK, if you want to go to Ireland. I think that’s great. But if you want to sell anything into the United States, I’m going to put a 200% tariff on you so you’re never going to be able to sell anything into the United States,” Trump added at the time. “You know what they would have done? They would have stayed here.”
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