Trump’s generic drug tariff plan faces doubts from health experts
Trump says steep tariffs will bring generic drug production to the U.S., but health policy experts warn prices and supplies may feel the squeeze.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
President Trump’s new tariff plan would slap imported generic drugs with duties starting at 100% in August 2028, then raise them to 200% a year later, according to his announcement Tuesday.
Trump said on Truth Social that the move is meant to bring generic pharmaceutical manufacturing back to the United States. Health policy experts, however, told CBS News that tariffs alone may not be enough to make drugmakers build costly new plants on U.S. soil.
Marta Wosińska, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on Health Policy, said Wednesday that a tariff may fit into a larger plan, but would not by itself shift production back to the U.S.
The stakes are high because generic drugs dominate American medicine cabinets. The Food and Drug Administration says generics make up 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S. They use the same active ingredients as brand-name medicines and usually sell for far less.
Over recent decades, much of that production has moved overseas. A 2025 report from the Senate Committee on Aging said India supplies more than half of the generic prescriptions filled in the U.S. A 2023 report from the Coalition for a Prosperous America said China supplies 95% of imported ibuprofen, 70% of imported acetaminophen and as much as 45% of penicillin imports.
White House spokesman Kush Desai told CBS News that the plan gives manufacturers two years to shift production. He also pointed to other administration policies, including full equipment expensing, as part of the push.
Desai said the administration’s work with global drugmakers through most-favored-nations deals and its Section 232 tariff program for branded drugs shows Trump has had success bringing critical manufacturing back to the U.S.
Prices may rise, experts say
Mariana Socal, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told CBS News that generic drugmakers operate on thin margins. That may make it hard for them to eat the cost of tariffs.
Socal said changes to tariffs are likely to be passed on to consumers, though competition and existing contracts may slow how quickly those costs show up.
Wosińska said any consumer price increases may be modest because generic medicines are usually inexpensive.
Factories are not built overnight
Experts said the two-year timeline may be tough for manufacturers because pharmaceutical plants require specialized equipment, infrastructure and quality controls.
Drugmakers would also have to decide whether the tariff threat is enough to justify building in the U.S., where production costs are higher. Wosińska said companies will weigh the upfront expense against expected profits.
Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israel-based company and one of the world’s largest generic drugmakers, declined to tell CBS News whether it plans to expand U.S. manufacturing. The company said its focus remains on access to high-quality, affordable medicines.
Sandoz, the Swiss-based generic drug producer, said generic medicines are essential to affordable health care in the U.S. CEO Richard Saynor said policymakers and industry must work together on a sustainable framework for long-term investment in generic and biosimilar medicines.
Experts also cited uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy. CBS News reported that the Supreme Court ruled in February that Trump lacked authority to impose certain tariffs, wiping out a large share of levies he had put in place.
Supply is another worry
Wosińska said some manufacturers may leave the U.S. market rather than produce domestically or pay tariffs, raising the risk of shortages.
Socal said some companies may prioritize other countries that already pay more for the same drugs. She cited her own research showing facilities making generics for the U.S. market also produce, on average, for two additional global markets.
She told CBS News that some large manufacturers may respond as the policy intends, while others may stop selling in the U.S., which she said would be a serious problem.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.