Trump administration prepares up to 100% pharmaceutical tariffs on some imported drugs

Patented medications and their active ingredients would be hit with a 100% tariff, according to a draft of the document obtained by CNBC. But there are pathways for drugmakers to reduce or avoid the levies if they move their manufacturing to the U.S. or are negotiating deals with the administration.

The proposal is not final and it is unclear when the Trump administration may announce it, though some reports indicated it could be 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 the global levies he imposed in 2025, which excluded the pharmaceutical industry.

Drugmaker that have fully executed deals or are currently negotiating with the Health and Human Services department would be exempt from the tariffs.

As part of the draft proposal, the administration would impose a 20% tariff on companies that plan to onshore production, which would increase to 100% four years from now.

Meanwhile, there are separate rates for the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and the U.K. based on bilateral deals. There will also be zero additional tariffs on generic drugs, according to the draft document.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the draft pharmaceutical tariff plan.

The tariffs follow a Commerce Department investigation that determined certain pharmaceutical imports pose a national security risk to the United States.

Prior to the landmark drug pricing deals, Trump repeatedly threatened duties on pharma imports. Those threats – and efforts to get into the president’s good graces – fueled a new wave of U.S. manufacturing investments from the pharmaceutical industry. Those commitments come at a time when domestic drug manufacturing had shrunk significantly.

Bloomberg first reported on the new pharmaceutical tariffs late Wednesday.