Medications are stored on shelves at a pharmacy in Los Angeles on May 12, 2025. Eric Thayer/Getty Images
President Donald Trump said on July 21 that he will impose a 100 percent tariff on all generic drugs starting August 2028 in a bid to encourage pharmaceutical companies to shift their production to the United States for national security reasons.
Trump said generic drugs brought into the United States would face no tariffs for the first two years from August 2026, before a 100 percent tariff takes effect in 2028.
The tariff would then rise to 200 percent a year later.
“This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America, with a penalty to those Companies that decide not to build Plant and Equipment within the stated period of time given to them,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
“The objective of this Policy is to protect the people of the United States. The Policy on Patented, Branded, or Innovative Drugs, which has been so successful, will remain as is. Pharmaceutical Facilities are being built, at a level never seen before, all over the United States of America.”
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs make up more than 90 percent of prescriptions filled in the United States.
Trump has sought to reduce foreign ownership and control in America’s pharmaceutical supply chains. In April, he issued a proclamation stating that a Commerce Department probe found that the nation’s current levels of imports of pharmaceutical products and their ingredients pose a risk to national security and the economy.
The probe found that the nation’s heavy reliance on imports threatens “access to life-saving medications in the event of global supply chain disruption due to geopolitical or economic disruption.”
It cited data from the FDA showing that about 53 percent of patented pharmaceutical products distributed in the United States are manufactured in other countries.
“A self-sufficient domestic manufacturing and industrial base for pharmaceutical products is vital for the ability to support national defense requirements and maintain public health security during a national emergency or wartime,” the president said in his proclamation.
Under the proclamation, imports of patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients will be subject to a 100 percent tariff, while patented pharmaceutical companies with onshoring plans approved by the Commerce Department will face a 20 percent duty rate that will increase to 100 percent after four years.
Trump also
an executive order in May 2025 directing the FDA to streamline the approval process for domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing plants by eliminating unnecessary regulations and accelerating reviews to boost domestic production of prescription drugs.
The order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to expedite the construction of facilities involved in producing prescription drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and other critical raw materials.
