Trump announces 100% tariffs on generic pharmacy drugs with 200% rate soon to follow

Washington DC - President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday the imposition of steep tariffs on imported generic drugs from August 2028, a move he said was aimed at onshoring production of such pharmaceutical products.

"Effective August 1st, 2026, all Generic Drugs being brought into the United States will continue to have a TARIFF of ZERO PERCENT for a two year period of time, after which the TARIFF will be raised to 100% for a one year period of time, and 200% thereafter," he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

Trump imposed a 10% global duty this year after a swath of his tariffs were struck down by the Supreme Court in February, but this levy expires on Friday.

The Trump administration has thus prepared fresh tariffs targeting 60 trading partners over their alleged failures to act against forced labor , as officials push to rebuild the US leader's trade agenda after legal setbacks.

They come as Trump makes a renewed push to use tariffs as leverage against US trading partners, sparking fears of retaliation and diplomatic tensions.

Washington announced a fresh 25% duty on certain Brazilian goods last week, and on Monday unveiled a 50% levy on many Canadian products to take effect in 30 days.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that he was looking at "all options," adding that he and Trump had agreed to "intensify discussions" in the coming weeks on a possible deal.