- The U.S. will get the overwhelming majority of widespread, generic drugs from China, that means President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on Chinese language imports might trigger a scarcity of key medicine. Generic medicine are reasonably priced due to producers’ razor-thin margins. Elevated prices because of tariffs might disincentivize them from producing sure pain-relief meds.
Tariffs have already got many People involved concerning the state of the economic system, however the incoming taxes on pharmaceutical items from China might current a extra literal headache.
The U.S. will get practically all of its provide of widespread over-the-counter ache drugs from China, that means President Donald Trump’s 145% tariffs on the nation might have an outsized affect on the U.S.’s technique of sourcing key medicine, Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk mentioned in a Wednesday weblog publish. About 95% of the U.S.’s ibuprofen comes from China, Sløokay famous, citing information from trade-protectionist advocacy group Coalition for a Affluent America and the Nationwide Institutes of Well being’s Nationwide Middle for Biotechnology Info.
Greater than 90% of the provision of anti-inflammation steroid hydrocortisone additionally comes from China, in addition to 70% of acetaminophen and 45% of the U.S.’s penicillin imports. The U.S. is especially reliant on China for extra reasonably priced, generic medicine, and generic medicine make up 90% of prescriptions crammed within the U.S., in line with the Meals and Drug Administration.
Tariffs have already extra broadly threatened the availability of client merchandise within the U.S. as American firms stockpiled items earlier than the tariffs went into impact, solely to tug again as soon as these merchandise grew to become dearer.
“The consequence will be empty shelves in U.S. stores in a few weeks and Covid-like shortages for consumers and for firms using Chinese products as intermediate goods,” Sløk mentioned in an April 25 publish.
These shortages are imminent, in line with Gene Soroka, govt director of the Port of Los Angeles, the U.S.’s largest port, which receives about 45% of its imports from China. Seroka has begun to see a “precipitous drop” in shipments from China that can lead to solely 5 to seven extra weeks of full inventories on retail cabinets, he predicted.
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to Fortune’s inquiry on plans to exempt drugs from tariffs.
Exacerbating a drug scarcity
For America’s drug provide, tariffs might make a nasty downside worse.
The U.S. has contended with cussed drug shortages up to now three quarters, with 270 lively shortages as of March 2025, however down from the all-time excessive of 323 shortages in early 2024, in line with commerce group American Society of Well being-System Pharmacists. These shortages may be brought on by pure disasters briefly halting manufacturing or regulatory challenges.
Key gamers within the pharmaceutical business concern tariffs will pile onto the elements driving the shortage. Revenue margins for generic medicine are extremely skinny to maintain them reasonably priced, that means some producers might cease producing medicine which can be too costly to make because of the elevated price of uncooked supplies, in line with John Murphy, president and CEO of commerce group Affiliation of Accessible Medicines (AAM). To make issues worse, Murphy mentioned, any hiccups within the provide chain can even possible imply a rise in drug costs for shoppers.
“AAM is concerned…that any duties on pharmaceutical products, particularly inputs, will lead to increased costs of manufacturing generics and biosimilars in the United States and, thus, result in higher prescription drug prices and decreased access for patients in our country,” Murphy mentioned in a March letter to U.S. commerce consultant Jamieson Greer.
Regardless of Trump’s intention with tariffs as encouraging home manufacturing, American pharmaceutical firms could also be hesitant to take an opportunity on growing their very own manufacturing capabilities, Marta Wosińska, well being economist and senior fellow on the Brookings Establishment, advised USA At the moment. The way forward for tariffs—with Trump now contemplating “substantially” reducing the levies—creates an excessive amount of unpredictability for drug firms to take significant steps to deal with them.
“Making a billion-dollar investment in the United States when I don’t even know whether tariffs are going to be there a month from now makes it a really difficult calculus for companies,” Wosińska mentioned.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
