White House says imposing tariffs on patented pharmaceutical products

President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to “bolster American national security and public health,” the White House announced. “President Trump imposed a 100% tariff on patented pharmaceutical products and ingredients. The tariffs will come into effect in 120 days for certain large companies, and 180 days for smaller companies. If a pharmaceutical product is from the European Union, Japan, Korea, or Switzerland and Liechtenstein, a 15% tariff will apply. If a pharmaceutical product is from the United Kingdom, a lower tariff will apply, subject to the recently concluded UK pharmaceutical agreement,” the White House stated in a fact sheet. Publicly traded large-cap pharmaceutical companies include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).