<figure id="attachment_3019310" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3019310" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3019310 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/0fc7f715-donald-trump-1.jpg" alt="Donald Trump" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3019310" class="wp-caption-text">US President Donald Trump said the US would first impose a &#8216;small&#8217; tariff on foreign-made drugs before hiking it to 150% and eventually to 250%. (AP pic)</figcaption></figure>
SYDNEY: Australia is very concerned about US President Donald Trump&#8217;s latest threat to raise tariffs on pharmaceutical imports by up to 250% over the longer term, its health minister said today.
Trump said this week that the US would first impose a &#8220;small&#8221; tariff on foreign-made drugs before hiking it to 150% within 18 months and eventually to 250% in an effort to boost domestic production.
Mark Butler said the plan would be a blow to producers such as CSL, Australia&#8217;s largest biotech company.
&#8220;And that is why we are working so hard to press the case for the continuation of free trade,&#8221; he told reporters.
Medicines and pharmaceuticals are among Australia&#8217;s top exports to the US, with around A$2.1 billion (US$1.4 billion) in shipments last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
There has been some bilateral tension over drug pricing in Australia.
In a January submission to the US government, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group said Australia&#8217;s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme was &#8220;egregious and discriminatory&#8221; and &#8220;undervalued American innovation,&#8221; putting jobs and exports at risk.
Butler said the national programme, which subsidises a wide range of prescription medicines for Australians, would not be changed to appease American companies and escape the threatened tariffs.
&#8220;To the extent that this is motivated by big pharma companies seeking to lobby the US administration to water down the protections of our PBS, it&#8217;s simply not up for negotiation under our government,&#8221; he said.

MatchPoint Times

Australia worried by Trump’s threat to raise US pharma tariffs to 250%

Medicines and pharmaceuticals are among Australia’s top exports to the US, with around US$1.4 billion in shipments last year.

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