The biggest tariff on medicine in modern U.S. history just kicked in - at least on paper.
On April 2, Trump signed an order putting a 100% tariff on patented drug imports and the raw chemicals used to make them. It covers finished pills and base ingredients alike.
The tariffs come in waves. Seventeen big drug makers face the 100% rate starting July 31.
Every other company gets hit in late September.
The break: Firms that file plans to make drugs in the U.S. - and get those plans cleared - can drop to a 20% rate. Products from Japan, the EU, South Korea, and Switzerland start at 15%.
A second order on the same day changed tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper. Finished goods made mostly from those metals now face a flat 50% rate.
The new rules made it clearer how importers should figure out what they owe.
If drug companies eat the tariffs, their profits take a hit. If they pass the cost along, patients pay more.
The 100% rate could go even higher - some expect it near 200% by late 2026 if firms don't move their work to the U.S. fast enough. Drug pricing just became a trade story.
