Trump Tariffs Target Key Ingredients for Dozens of Drugs

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration’s proposed tariffs on thousands of Chinese-manufactured products would target dozens of key products used by drugmakers, as well as medical devices including pacemakers and artificial joints.

The 25 percent tariff would be placed on raw ingredients for drugs such as insulin used by diabetics, the anti-allergic-reaction drug epinephrine, as well as vaccines, blood products and antidepressants, according to the list. The tariffs would also target medical devices and diagnostic equipment including syringes, MRI machines, defibrillators, artificial joints, and pacemakers.

More than 80 percent of the ingredients used to make U.S.-consumed drugs are produced outside of the country, according to the Food and Drug Administration. China, along with India, accounts for most of the bulk ingredients and the FDA has called China a “major provider.”

For brand-name drugs, raw ingredients used by manufacturers are typically a tiny fraction of the cost of a product. They can be more important for generic medications that are essentially low-cost commodity products.

Representatives for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, Mylan NV and Pfizer Inc., which are among the largest manufactures of generic drugs for the U.S. market, either didn’t respond to requests for comment or declined to comment.

--With assistance from John Tozzi and Rebecca Spalding

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Langreth in New York at rlangreth@bloomberg.net, Anna Edney in Washington at aedney@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Drew Armstrong at darmstrong17@bloomberg.net, Timothy Annett

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