The Trump administration is considering massive “Section 232” tariffs on imported medicines from key U.S. allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, and South Korea. While tariffs on some countries, such as EU member states, could be capped at 15%, other tariffs could reportedly be set as high as 250%. Either way, the swift result would be empty shelves at pharmacies nationwide.
The U.S. drug supply chain is deeply intertwined with the rest of the free world. For branded medicines, American patients rely primarily on medicines manufactured in the United States. But they also rely on dozens of medicines that are manufactured primarily or entirely in Europe, and even many drugs made in the United States depend on European inputs. Europe alone produces over 40% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in branded drugs consumed in the United States.
Meanwhile, allies like South Korea also provide brand name drugs, like the popular cancer treatment Leclaza, as well as biosimilars. Japan exports medicines like the schizophrenia and bipolar treatment Abilify.
Steep tariffs could make medicines like these prohibitively expensive or even physically impossible to obtain.
Faced with triple-digit price hikes, wholesalers and insurers may simply stop stocking and covering certain medicines—forcing patients to abandon their doctor-recommended therapies. This sort of non-medical switching is incredibly disruptive for patients, and often leads to worse health outcomes.
In the past, shortages have swiftly followed medical supply chain disruptions. After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico—which produces a host of pharmaceuticals and other medical products—in 2017, hospitals and infusion centers experienced critical supply shortages. And hospitals’ IV supplies were threatened once again in 2024 when Hurricane Helene damaged a major manufacturing plant, forcing hospitals to work around subsequent shortages.
Triple-digit tariffs would be a man-made disaster that’d prove every bit as disruptive as those natural disasters.
Some wholesalers would undoubtedly try to stockpile drugs before tariffs take effect. In fact, some pharmacists are already stocking up on extra doses of common medications.
Ironically, these buying surges could exacerbate supply chain chaos and leave other buyers without enough stock. In other words, the tariffs could do considerable damage before they even take effect.
The pharmaceutical supply chain is already under enormous pressure. Last year set a record for the most drug shortages in American history, with providers and patients struggling to secure adequate amounts of everything from basic antibiotics to chemotherapy drugs. Making it vastly more expensive to import medicines would only make a bad situation worse.
Of course, there’d be long-term damage in addition to the immediate shortages.
The already announced 15% tariff on European medicines and ingredients is projected to saddle the biotech industry with $13 billion to $19 billion in extra costs. Companies that can’t or won’t pass those costs onto consumers will have to make cuts elsewhere, and research and development budgets will be first on the chopping block. That means fewer clinical trials, fewer breakthrough therapies, and fewer lifesaving treatments in the future.
These cuts will have geopolitical consequences as well. China’s biopharma sector is expanding rapidly, and making it more costly to research and produce drugs in both the United States and Europe will only help China close the gap. By hurting our own industry, we make it easier for a competitor to surpass us.
Imposing Section 232 tariffs on medicines would worsen shortages, drive up prices, and leave patients with fewer options.
Patients can only hope that White House officials don’t make this costly mistake.
