Trump Imposes 100% Tariffs on Drugmakers Without Price Deals

U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs of up to 100% on imported branded drugs from pharmaceutical companies that have not agreed to lower U.S. prices or move production into the United States. The measure, announced in a White House proclamation dated April 2, frames foreign dependence for patented medicines and pharmaceutical ingredients as a national security risk and escalates Trump's long-running effort to pressure the drug industry on costs.

Under the policy, companies that fully execute, or are actively negotiating, so-called most-favored-nation pricing agreements with the administration can avoid the tariffs altogether. Drugmakers that commit to onshoring production can receive a reduced 20% tariff rate, although that rate would rise to 100% after four years. Large pharmaceutical companies will have 120 days to announce plans to avoid the full 100% tariff, while smaller companies will get 180 days. Generic drugs, which account for more than 90% of medicines sold in the U.S., will be exempt for at least one year.

The administration says the goal is twofold: bring prescription drug prices closer to what patients pay in other developed countries and rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity for critical medicines. According to the White House, about 53% of patented pharmaceutical products distributed in the U.S. were produced abroad as of 2025.

Trump secured agreements with 16 major pharmaceutical companies to bring U.S. prescription drug prices in line with those paid in other developed nations in exchange for three-year exemptions from tariffs on drug imports. Drugmakers have committed to "most-favoured-nation" pricing, to sell drugs directly to consumers through a new government platform called TrumpRx.gov and pledged billions of dollars in U.S. investments.

Among the companies that have already struck deals are Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Merck, Roche, Novartis, Amgen, Sanofi and GSK. Some of those agreements included steep price cuts on high-profile drugs sold through TrumpRx.gov. Regeneron appeared to be the major holdout as of Thursday, although the company said it expects to finalize an agreement soon.

Specific agreements include Pfizer offering discounts of up to 85% through TrumpRx.gov, with majority of its primary care treatments and some select brands offered at average savings of 50% which can be as high as 85%. Novo Nordisk agreed to reduce prices for its semaglutide medicines, including Wegovy and Ozempic, with prices falling from $1,000 and $1,350 per month, respectively, to $350 when purchased through TrumpRx. The company will also provide widely-used insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, at $35 per month through TrumpRx.

Eli Lilly agreed to offer Medicare beneficiaries its obesity medicines Zepbound and orforglipron, branded as Foundayo, at no more than $50 per month, with additional discounts for self-pay patients through LillyDirect. Merck said it will sell its diabetes drugs Januvia, Janumet and Janumet XR directly to U.S. consumers at about 70% off list prices.

Novartis and the White House reached a deal shortly before Christmas aimed at lowering US drug prices, with the Swiss drugmaker agreeing to launch new medicines at prices comparable to those in other wealthy countries and to sell some treatments directly to patients through a government-backed platform. Trump said his tariffs spurred Novartis to expand its US manufacturing footprint, with the company investing $23 billion to build and expand 10 facilities in the US.

The move comes after months of pressure from the Trump administration on major drugmakers. Trump sent letters to the leaders of 17 large pharma companies back in July, demanding that they match U.S. prices of their new drugs with the lowest prices offered in other developed nations with 16 of them publicly announcing agreements with the government.