Watchdog Warns Against New Drug Tariffs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) criticized President Trump for signing an executive order (EO) imposing 100 percent tariffs on an array of imported branded pharmaceuticals. The text of the EO claims that imports of “pharmaceuticals and associated active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including key starting materials … threaten to impair the national security of the United States” without specifying how the increased availability of lower-cost medications imperils national security.

In response, Ross Marchand, Executive Director at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following comment:

“Millions of patients in the U.S. rely on medications to live their lives, alleviate pain, and treat life-threatening illnesses. Drug manufacturers deliver these treatments through a robust and resilient international trade network. Yesterday’s EO threatens critical supply chains and will leave patients scrambling to access critical and life-saving treatments. The President’s latest tax is yet another constitutional overreach that will jeopardize patients’ lives and result in higher prices at the pharmacy counter. President Trump promised to fight inflation, yet this measure is guaranteed to do the opposite and raise prices.

“The evidence could not be clearer: taxing pharmaceutical imports would be a disaster for patients and their families. An April 2025 Ernst & Young analysis found that a 25 percent tariff on pharmaceutical imports could raise U.S. drug costs by $51 billion a year and increase prices by as much as 12.9 percent. Quadrupling that rate will only quadruple the pain for consumers—if not more so. Consumers bear the brunt of all tariffs, and this time is no different.

“President Trump can deliver real relief to working families by ending his tariff policies and committing to commonsense reforms that lower drug prices. This would require comprehensive changes to the Food and Drug Administration (which TPA proposes in its latest report) and allowing direct-to-consumer medication sales without onerous red tape. TPA urges President Trump to reverse these tariffs and unleash markets and innovation.”

###

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.