President Donald Trump last week announced that 100% pharma tariffs would come Oct. 1, but a White House official has clarified that that’s when the government will “begin preparing” the levies.
President Donald Trump’s pharma tariffs have been pushed off again, after Oct. 1 was set last week as the start date. A White House official told Endpoints News on Wednesday that the 100% levies will not take effect immediately. Trump last week said in a Truth Social post that he would slap a 100% tariff on “any branded or patented pharmaceutical product” starting Oct. 1. His post carved out an exemption for companies that have broken ground or started construction on their manufacturing facilities in the U.S.
But speaking to Endpoints News, an unnamed White House official said that Oct. 1 was not the start date for the tariffs. Instead, that’s when the government will “begin preparing tariffs.” Trump’s exemptions will still apply to companies that are actively building out their domestic footprints, the official added, noting that those who fail to follow the Most Favored Nation pricing policy will also be subject to tariffs.
Trump has been threatening the industry with tariffs for months now. He first floated the idea in February, speaking to several industry leaders in a closed-door meeting. More recently, Trump in July said that the tariffs could reach as high as 200%—before raising the potential levies even further to 250% in August.
Trump has also said that he would give companies a grace period of “about a year, a year and a half” to build out their domestic supply chains.
Meanwhile, the government has also reached trade deals with certain markets that put tariffs at a much lower rate. In July, an agreement with the European Union set a 15% levy on generics, while an arrangement with Japan last month put a 15% tariff on pharma products, but with generics exempted.
In an effort to sidestep import levies, many of the industry’s biggest players have pumped billions of dollars into their domestic operations. Earlier this week Pfizer agreed to offer many of its drugs direct-to-consumer and added a $70 billion investment in the U.S., motivated by the threat of tariffs. Also making big commitments is AbbVie, which in April announced a $10 billion investment over the next decade into its U.S. manufacturing capacity. On Tuesday, the pharma announced that construction has commenced on a $70 million expansion of a facility in Massachusetts.
And in February, Eli Lilly promised $27 billion in manufacturing investments. The pharma has so far unveiled two projects: a $5 billion production plant in Virginia and a $6.5 billion site in Texas. Lilly will announce two more facilities this year.
