Trump Rattles Global Drugmakers With New 100% Tariff
Get caught up.
Wegovy injection pens at the Novo Nordisk manufacturing facility in Denmark.
Photographer: Charlotte de la Fuente/Bloomberg
Several of America’s most health-critical and best-selling drugs could be about to get a lot more expensive. President Donald Trump announced a 100% duty on patented drugs starting from Wednesday unless the producer is building a manufacturing plant in the US. Trump publicized the new tariffs in a social media post without offering further specifics. Most European drugmakers slumped, led by a drop of as much as 3.1% in Novo Nordisk.
The move threatens to double the cost of global pharma’s blockbuster treatments ranging from cancer immunotherapies to weight-loss shots. Several of America’s most popular drugs are still largely produced abroad. The main ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and weight-loss juggernauts Ozempic and Wegovy is made in Denmark, while a critical first step in the production of Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro happens in Ireland. Johnson & Johnson’s immune-disease therapy Stelara and cancer drug Darzalex are manufactured in Switzerland and Denmark, respectively.
Trump’s new pharmaceutical levy was one of several of new industry-focused tariffs targeting heavy trucks as well as kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture. The new levies follow a series of Commerce Department investigations into the imports, all advanced on national security grounds.