Donald Trump threatens pharmaceutical tariffs of 250 per cent
The US President last month flagged his administration was planning imposts of up to 200 per cent on pharmaceuticals, giving drugmakers up to 'a year and a half to come in'.
But in an interview overnight, he said he wanted to tighten the timeline.
'We'll be putting (an) initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals,' Mr Trump told US business news channel CNBC.
'In one year, 1½ years maximum, it's going to go to 150 per cent and then it's going to go to 250 per cent because½ we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.'
He did not say what the initial rate would be, but earlier in the year he said duties on the sector would start from 25 per cent.
Mr Trump caused a stir in Canberra when he first announced he was mulling over tariffs on pharmaceuticals, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers saying the Albanese government was 'urgently seeking' details.
Australian pharma exports to the US were worth more than $2bn in 2024.
Exports are mostly blood products and vaccines but also include packaged medicines and miscellaneous products, such as bandages.
But Mr Trump's threat to hit the industry with steep levies is driven by ire over high prices in the US rather than animosity towards allies.
A RAND Corporation report found that Americans pay nearly four times than Australians for medicines and about three times more than the average in other developed economies.
In Australia, that is largely due to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which compels drugmakers to negotiate prices with the federal government if they want to sell their products.
Similar mechanisms exist in New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Europe.
Mr Trump last week wrote to 17 major pharmaceutical firms demanding they lower their prices for American consumers and bring them in line with prices overseas.
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