TAPP Submits Comments on Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Pharmaceuticals and Pharmaceutical Ingredients

On April 15, the Secretary of Commerce initiated an investigation to determine the effects on the national security of imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, including finished drug products, medical countermeasures, critical inputs such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, and key starting materials, and derivative products of those items. The Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity submitted comments in response to the agency’s request.

The agency’s investigation was initiated under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, as amended. Interested parties were invited to submit written comments, data, analyses, or other information pertinent to the investigation to the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Strategic Industries and Economic Security. The agency’s notice identified issues on which the Department was especially interested in obtaining the public's views: 

  1. the current and projected demand for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States;

  2.  the extent to which domestic production of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients can meet domestic demand;

  3.  the role of foreign supply chains, particularly of major exporters, in meeting United States demand for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients;

  4.  the concentration of United States imports of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients from a small number of suppliers and the associated risks;

  5.  the impact of foreign government subsidies and predatory trade practices on United States pharmaceuticals industry competitiveness;

  6.  the economic impact of artificially suppressed prices of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients due to foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overproduction;

  7.  the potential for export restrictions by foreign nations, including the ability of foreign nations to weaponize their control over pharmaceuticals supplies;

  8.  the feasibility of increasing domestic capacity for pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients to reduce import reliance;

  9. the impact of current trade policies on domestic production of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients, and whether additional measures, including tariffs or quotas, are necessary to protect national security; and

  10.  any other relevant factors.

Among other points in the Trade Alliance to Promote Prosperity comments were these:

Applying tariffs to these critical imports will disrupt supply chains, increase drug prices, strain public health budgets, and limit patient access to life-saving treatments. For these reasons, medicines and their components have long been treated as exceptions in trade conflicts, and we strongly urge the continuation of this precedent.

  • Tariffs Will Disrupt the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain

  • Tariffs Will Increase Costs for Patients, Companies, and Taxpayers

  • Medicines Are Not Consumer Luxuries—They Are Medical Necessities

  • Exemptions Are the Responsible Path Forward

Medicines are not like other imports. They are essential goods, tied directly to the health and well-being of the American people. The United States has long held a bipartisan commitment to ensuring that patients are protected from geopolitical shocks and market disruptions in the pharmaceutical space. That commitment must be reaffirmed now.

Read the full TAPP comments here.

Ainsley Shea