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Updated on: July 22, 2026 / 3:54 PM EDT
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Imported generic drugs could face tariffs of up to 100% beginning in 2028 under a plan announced Tuesday by President Trump, who said the measure is intended to push manufacturers to move production to the U.S.Health policy experts said they are skeptical the tariffs alone would persuade generic drug manufacturers to relocate production to the U.S."A tariff can be part of a broader strategy, but is not going to by itself lead to onshoring," Marta Wosińska, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on Health Policy, said on Wednesday.Mr. Trump announced Tuesday the 100% tariffs on generic drugmakers will begin in August 2028 and increase to 200% after one year."This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America," the president wrote on Truth Social.The measure could portend major changes for the generic drug industry, which accounts for 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration. Generic medications are manufactured with the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs but typically cost much less. Generic drug manufacturing has increasingly shifted overseas during the past decades, with India now supplying more than 50% of the generic prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to a 2025 report by the Senate Committee on Aging.
