What Trump's generic drug tariffs could mean, according to experts

Imported generic drugs could face tariffs of up to 100% beginning in 2028 under a plan announced Tuesday by President Trump, who said the measure is intended to push manufacturers to move production to the U.S.

Health policy experts said they are skeptical the tariffs alone would persuade generic drug manufacturers to relocate production to the U.S.

"A tariff can be part of a broader strategy, but is not going to by itself lead to onshoring," Marta Wosińska, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center on Health Policy, said on Wednesday.

Mr. Trump announced Tuesday the 100% tariffs on generic drugmakers will begin in August 2028 and increase to 200% after one year.

"This is done in order to RESHORE Generic Pharmaceutical Production into America," the president wrote on Truth Social.

The measure could portend major changes for the generic drug industry, which accounts for 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration. Generic medications are manufactured with the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs but typically cost much less.

Generic drug manufacturing has increasingly shifted overseas during the past decades, with India now supplying more than 50% of the generic prescriptions filled in the U.S., according to a 2025 report by the Senate Committee on Aging.

The U.S. also relies heavily on China, which provides 95% and 70%, respectively, of imported ibuprofen and acetaminophen and as much as 45% of penicillin imports, the Coalition for a Prosperous America, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying organization, said in a 2023 report.

Mr. Trump's plan provides a two-year runway for drug manufacturers to reshore production, White House spokesman Kush Desai told CBS News, who pointed to other administration policies such as full equipment expensing as aiding in the transition.

"The President's resounding success securing firm reshoring plans from global drugmakers as part of our most-favored-nations deals and Section 232 tariff program for branded drugs is proof that this administration has a track record of success to get critical manufacturing back into the United States," he said in an email.

Here's what experts say about the tariff's potential impact.

Generic drug manufacturers have slim margins, which could limit their ability to absorb the impact of tariffs, said Mariana Socal, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Any changes to the tariff structure are likely to be passed through to the consumer," she told CBS News.

Still, she added, competition