What tariffs could mean for the pharmaceutical industry

President Donald J. Trump’s imposition of steep “reciprocal tariffs,”—which he later paused for 90 days—to help bring manufacturing back to the US seems to have caught the attention of some major pharmaceutical companies. Firms including Novartis, Merck & Co., and Eli Lilly and Company have recently announced investments to make brand-name drugs in the US. But the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) needed in over-the-counter and generic drugs are imported from China and India in vast quantities, and US manufacturing capacity for APIs is sparse. Levies on those commodities could make prices rise without encouraging domestic production, experts say. Trump’s April 2 announcement of reciprocal tariffs caused global stock markets to tumble rapidly. While the drug industry was spared that day, he clearly stated that it was next in line. “The pharmaceutical companies are going to come roaring back, they’re coming roaring back, they’re all coming back to our country because