As President Trump continues to hammer out international trade deals, he’s expected to announce tariffs on medicines any day.
Tariffs can be a smart, necessary tool to level the playing field and strengthen American industry. But unlike with other products, we need a more surgical approach when it comes to medications.
Pharmaceutical tariffs should absolutely target adversarial nations like China — but they shouldn’t be applied indiscriminately to medicines from our allies in Europe and elsewhere. Such a blanket strategy will drive up costs for Montanans and delay access to critical treatments.
Trade pressure is undoubtedly a powerful lever. And China has exploited our supply chains for years — undercutting American producers with subsidies and stealing our technology. If tariffs help reduce our dependency on the Chinese Communist Party for key ingredients in our medicine, I’m all for it.
But other countries aren’t China.
Many of the medicines that Americans rely on are made here in the United States, which we should continue to support. But countless others — like complex treatments for cancer — are manufactured across the Atlantic in European countries. And about one-third of the key ingredients used to make U.S.-consumed drugs come from Europe.
These countries share our commitment to safety and quality. Targeting them with sweeping tariffs risks disrupting well-established supply chains, slowing production, and ultimately making medicines more difficult and expensive for Montanans to access.
Here’s the reality: when tariffs increase the cost of importing medicines, those costs trickle down to patients. But unlike luxury handbags, medicines aren’t optional. People can’t simply go without the treatments their doctors prescribe — especially when there’s no U.S.-made alternative.
People don’t choose their diagnosis or what medicine works best for them. For Montanans with the autoimmune disease psoriasis, for example, the best treatment option might be Stelara — a treatment manufactured in Ireland and the Netherlands. Or take Keytruda — a blockbuster cancer drug that treats everything from lung cancer to stomach cancer to Hodgkin’s lymphoma. That medicine just happens to be manufactured in Ireland. People don’t care where their medicine comes from, only that it helps them beat cancer. Unfortunately, tariffs could put these medicines, and many others, out of reach.
Across Montana, we’re already burdened by high healthcare costs. U.S. prescription drug spending jumped 11% in 2023, hitting $450 billion. Tacking tariffs on medications will only further squeeze patients, particularly seniors.
Nearly 20 percent of Montana’s population is over age 65 — one of the highest proportions in the country. These seniors will likely face higher monthly copays if tariffs increase costs for Medicare, the largest drug purchaser in the country.
Additionally, these tariffs will disproportionately impact Montana’s veterans, many of whom rely on critical drugs, equipment, and services. The Montana Veterans Association recently surveyed veterans in our state. We found they overwhelmingly support President Trump for being tough on China, increasing domestic manufacturing, and maintaining veterans’ medical choice and full access to care. But what veterans don’t
We need to protect our access to affordable medications. Strong trade policies are essential to push back against unfair practices abroad. But essential medicines shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire — we need a more targeted strategy.
Let’s keep the pressure on China and continue encouraging pharmaceutical production here at home. But let’s not tax the very treatments that help our neighbors live longer, healthier lives — especially when they come from allies, not adversaries.
Montana families deserve trade policies that protect both our economy and our health. With a few thoughtful adjustments, we can have both.
want are higher prices for their vital medicines.
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