Trump Administration Imposes Added Ten Percent Tariff on China and Threatens Drug-Specific Tariffs

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On February 1, the Trump Administration a new ten percent tariff on virtually all products imported from China, following President Trump’s earlier announcement that his administration would impose tariffs on , , and on the grounds that they have taken insufficient steps to stop the flow of illicit opioids into the United States. The tariffs on and —also set to go into effect on February 1—have been paused for 30 days (until March 4) to allow negotiation with those countries’ leaders over border issues.

Prior to the China tariffs going into effect, President Trump also suggested that he is exploring imposing new tariffs on imports from all other countries in certain categories, including pharmaceutical products and semiconductors. Various media sources have also reported that the administration is also considering a smaller, universal tariff on all imports. A range of health care industry voices have been critical of both these proposals and the new China tariffs, arguing that health care products such as prescription drugs and medical devices should be exempt.

The new will apply to essentially all products from China (exempting only donations, certain informational products, and personal luggage) and come on top of existing duties that the United States has imposed on particular product categories from China since the first Trump Administration. Duties on Chinese products will apply only to products imported from China to the United States—that is, if a Chinese company produces active pharmaceutical ingredients that are then used in India to manufacture a prescription drug product exported from India to the United States, these tariffs on China would not apply.

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