(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump’s tariffs could affect the cost and supply of generic drugs in the United States, according to some experts.
In March, Trump put an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods. On top of this, Trump also claimed that Ireland took away the country’s pharmaceutical companies.
Egg prices should come down ‘soon’: Agriculture secretary
“We do have a massive deficit with Ireland because Ireland was very smart,” Trump said. “They took our pharmaceutical companies away from presidents that didn’t know what they were doing.
According to Fox Business, American pharmaceutical companies started leaving the country for Ireland after U.S. production peaked in 2006 before the recession.
How would prescription drugs in the US be impacted by Trump’s tariffs?
According to a study from Black Book Market Research, 69% of the professionals who were surveyed believe that pharmaceutical costs will rise at least 10% because of the Chinese tariffs.
However, it will take some time to know what the full impact will be of these tariffs. William Soliman, the founder and CEO of the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs, told NewsNation that drug prices and future availability are difficult to predict.
More than 80% of cannabis users admit to driving within hours of consuming: Report
“A lot of the common drugs that Americans take — your cholesterol-lowering drugs, your blood thinners, your antibiotics — a lot of these drugs, a lot of their active pharmaceutical ingredients, are made in China. They’re made in Canada,” Soliman said.
How could Trump’s tariffs affect prices, availability at the pharmacy?
“That additional 10 percent tariff is going to have a fairly significant impact on the cost of goods for the generic,” John Murphy, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, told The Hill.
Soliman said consumers could see price increases or shortages of generic drugs in the country. There are some laws that protect consumers from getting directly hit with high prices, but medical experts said that half of the country’s generic drugs and 80% of active ingredients in drugs come from overseas.
Pharmacies and hospitals could also start stockpiling drugs to avoid paying more later.
But Soliman said Americans shouldn’t panic just yet. There’s likely a 12- to 18-month stockpile for many of these drugs, so there should be no immediate issue with supply chain shortages for generic medications, Soliman claimed.
How many US prescription drugs are imported?
According to The Hill, Chinese imports account for a large portion of the country’s prescriptions and over-the-counter medicine. Many of the drugs produced in China are generic, which is 91% of the prescriptions given to patients in America.
Migrants aren’t seeing doctors; here’s why that’s a public health crisis
NBC reported that China is continuously playing a larger role in making active pharmaceutical ingredients. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit group focusing on drug supply chain safety, said that in 2023, China had nearly 220 API facilities. This is 134 more than it had in 2021.
However, India is still the largest producer of these ingredients, with about half of all facilities.
