Posted by Michael Wonder on 05 Apr 2018
The Health 202: Trump's tariffs could defeat his goal of lowering drug prices
5 April 2018 - President Trump’s expansive new tariffs could work against one of his most-repeated promises — to lower drug prices.
A slew of advanced medical products and drug ingredients are among the 1,300 items that could be subject to a new 25% tariff on Chinese imports. The list, proposed Tuesday by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, is aimed at penalizing China for trade policies that Trump says put U.S. companies at a disadvantage. China responded yesterday by threatening its own 25% import taxes on 106 U.S. products worth about $50 billion.
If the administration goes through with the threatened tariffs — which are inciting widespread fears of a trade war with China — it could affect more than the prices of electronics, aerospace and machinery products. It could also have a big impact on the cost of insulin, antidepressants, MRI machines, artificial joints and pacemakers, just to name a few products on which millions of Americans rely.
