US Tariffs Hit Unlikely Target: Monkeys Used in Covid Research
Mauritius earns $200 from each monkey export and uses the proceeds for conservation initiatives.
Photographer: Mladen Antonov/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
President Donald Trump’s new tariffs will likely make imports of long-tailed macaques that US pharmaceutical companies use for trials 40% more expensive.
Mauritius supplied 60% of the primates needed by American pharmaceutical research in 2023 and shipped 13,484 monkeys last year, according to the Indian Ocean island nation. Mauritius’ tariff rate, one of the highest in Africa, may also hurt sugar and textile sales, the country’s two other main exports.