- The United States obtains the vast majority of common generic drugs from ChinaThis means that President Donald Trump's steep prices on Chinese imports could lead to a shortage of key drugs. Generic drugs are affordable due to the thin margins of the manufacturers' razor. The increase in costs as a result of prices could disincice them by producing certain pain drugs.
The prices already have many Americans concerned about the state of the economy, but incoming taxes on pharmaceutical products from China could present more literal headaches.
The United States obtains almost all of its supply of over-the-counter current anal drugs from China, which means that the 145% tariffs of President Donald Trump on the country could have a disproportionate impact Torsten Sløk said in a Wednesday blog. About 95% of the American ibuprofen comes from China, SLØK noted, citing data from the coalition of the organization for the defense of commercial protections for a prosperous America and the National Institutes of Health Center for Biotechnology Information.
More than 90% of the supply of anti-inflammation steroid hydrocortisone also comes from China, as well as 70% of acetaminophen and 45% of American penicillin imports. The United States is particularly dependent on China for More affordable generic drugsand generic drugs make up 90% of the prescriptions completed In the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
The prices have already threatened more broadly the availability of consumer products in the United States, as American companies store goods before the entry into force of the prices, to retreat once these products have become more expensive.
“The consequences will be empty shelves in American stores in a few weeks and coveted type shortages for consumers and for companies using Chinese products as intermediate products,” said Sløk in a April 25.
These shortages are imminent, according to Gene Soroka, executive director of the port of Los Angeles, the largest port in the United States, which receives around 45% of its imports from China. Seroka began to see an “precipitous decrease” of expeditions from China which will only have five to seven weeks more complete stocks on retail shelves, he predicted.
The White House did not immediately respond to FortuneSurvey on tariff medication exemption plans.
Exacerbate a drug shortage
For the supply of American drugs, prices could worsen a bad problem.
The United States has supported shortages of stubborn drugs in the last three quarters, with 270 active shortages In March 2025, but down compared to the summit of 323 shortages at the beginning of 2024, according to the commercial organization American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. These shortages can be caused by Natural disasters temporarily interrupt the production or regulatory challenges.
The main players in the prices for fear of the pharmaceutical industry will accumulate on the factors stimulating the shortage. The beneficiary margins for generic drugs are incredibly thin to keep them affordable, which means that certain manufacturers could stop producing drugs that are too expensive to do due to the increase in the cost of raw materials, according to John Murphy, president and chief executive officer of the Association of the Commercial group of accessible drugs (AAM). To make matters worse, said Murphy, any hiccups in the supply chain will also mean an increase in drug prices for consumers.
“AAM is concerned … that all tasks on pharmaceutical products, in particular inputs, will lead to an increase in the costs of manufacturing generics and biosimilars in the United States and, thus, will cause higher prices of prescription drugs and a decrease in access to patients in our country,” said Murphy in a March letter to the American commercial representative Jamieson Greer.
Despite Trump's intention with prices like encouraging domestic production, American pharmaceutical companies can hesitate to try their chance of increasing their own manufacturing capacities, Marta Wosińska, health economist and senior stock market in Brookings Institution, said USA today. The future of prices – with Trump who now plans to “substantially” reduce the samples – achieves too much unpredictability for pharmaceutical companies to take significant measures to remedy them.
“Make an investment of $ 1 billion in the United States when I don't even know if the prices will be there in a really difficult calculation for businesses,” said Wosińska.
This story was initially presented on Fortune.com
