Senator Calls for 100% Tariff on Generic Drugs, APIs and Key Chemicals
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., asked Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to expand trade actions started with the Section 232 investigation on pharmaceuticals, so that they cover generic drugs and the active pharmaceutical ingredients and key starting materials in those medicines.
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He asked that either 100% tariffs apply immediately, or that they're phased in within 12 months.
He wrote Oct. 3, "Considering the U.S. depends on overseas manufacturers for about 75% of its essential drug supply and that approximately 83% of the top 100 generic drugs consumed by U.S. citizens have no U.S.-based source of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, it is clear our supply chain is dangerously exposed."
He said that generic medicines from China and India are a clear vulnerability that can be weaponized by exporters.
Scott, who owned a for-profit hospital chain before going into politics, wrote, "We have the capability, demand, and a clear market for domestically produced generics -- with 85% of hospital pharmacists willing to pay more for domestic, generic drugs."