President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to impose a 100% tariff on imported branded medicines (patented drugs and their active ingredients). However, with Trump reaffirming a 15% duty rate for imports from the EU, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, the order maintains the status quo for leading European pharma giants such as Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Novartis (NVS)
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Trump Keeps EU Tariff at 15%
Already, the U.S. has a 15% tariff on most EU exports to the country following a trade deal with the political bloc in July last year. The current situation also remains unchanged for British pharma heavyweights such as AstraZeneca (AZN), as the order states a 10% default tariff on such products from the UK.
This is even as Britain has just finalized a zero-tariff agreement on British medicines with the U.S. for at least the next three years in exchange for accepting higher prices on new drugs.
However, for pharma companies that are not from these regions, the 100% tariff rate is to take effect. On the other hand, those who entered an approved arrangement with the U.S. government to shift the production of such products will see the full tariff swapped for a 20% duty rate for four years.
U.S. Pushes Onshoring of Drug Production
In the order, Trump noted that the goal is to protect the interests of the U.S. and cut heavy reliance on foreign producers to preempt critical exposure during periods of emergency.
The American noted that data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration show that about 53% of branded medicines distributed in the country in 2025 were produced outside its borders. And more importantly, only 15% of patented active pharmaceutical ingredients — in terms of volume — were domestically produced in the U.S.
“A self-sufficient domestic manufacturing and industrial base for pharmaceutical products is vital for the ability to support national defense requirements and maintain public health security during a national emergency or wartime,” Trump wrote in the order.
Trump further noted that countries that have fully executed or are negotiating an agreement with the U.S. government under its most-favored nation pricing policy, as well as onshoring production and research and development for these products, will face no import tariffs.
The rollout of the plan comes as the Trump administration has put pressure on pharmaceutical companies to ramp up their U.S. domestic manufacturing. Pharma giants have committed to doubling down on their U.S. investments. For instance, AstraZeneca has stated plans to pump $50 billion into its U.S. facilities.
Which Is the Best Pharma Stock to Buy?
TipRanks’ Stock Comparison tool shows that Novo Nordisk (NVO) currently offers the biggest upside of roughly 16% despite analysts’ consensus Hold rating on the stock. This is based on an average price target of $43.
