Trump says pharma tariffs to come in 2 weeks, signs order to boost domestic output

Investing.com-- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order aimed at boosting domestic pharmaceutical production, and warned that he will impose import tariffs on the sector in the next two weeks. 

Trump’s order will bring down the time taken to approve new pharma plants in the country, and instructs the Food and Drug Administration to streamline reviews while working closely with manufacturers to bring more production capacity online. 

Trump’s order also orders the Environmental Protection Agency to speed up construction of new facilities. 

The move is the latest by Trump to bring more drug manufacturing to the United States. Trump also signaled on Monday that he will impose import tariffs on pharmaceuticals in the next two weeks, after he had earlier this year launched probes into the sector to explore potential trade duties.

Trump’s main point of contention with foreign pharma products is that they present a national security risk, due to the U.S.’ heavy reliance on pharma imports. 

Pharma tariffs could present significant headwinds to the industry, with the U.S. importing over $200 billion in prescription drugs annually. European companies are expected to be the worst hit by this trend, as are drug producers in India and medical equipment makers in China. 

The threat of U.S. tariffs did see several pharma giants, including Roche (LON:0QQ6), Novartis (LON:0QLR) (SIX:NOVN), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Johnson&Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announce increased investments in domestic production over the past few weeks. 

Trump’s threat of pharma tariffs is the latest in the President’s tariff agenda. He had on Sunday threatened to impose 100% tariffs on foreign films.