“The imposition of section 232 Invoices on medicines will worsen shortages. It will drive prices and leave patients with fewer options,” the pipes writes.
aging
Trump’s administration examines the huge “Department 232” invoices for imported drugs by the main US allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea. While invoices in some countries, such as EU Member States, could be covered at 15%, other tariffs could be specified 250%. Either way, the quick result would be empty shelves in pharmacies at national level.
The US supply chain is deeply interconnected with the rest of the free world. For branded drugs, American patients are mainly based on medicines manufactured in the United States. But they are also based on dozens of medicines that are mainly manufactured or entirely in Europe and even many medicines manufactured in the United States depend on European inputs. Only Europe produces over 40% From the active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs with branded medicines in the United States.
Meanwhile, allies such as South Korea also provide brand drugs such as popular cancer treatment Lollazaas well as biocompatibility. Japan exports medicines such as schizophrenia and bipolar therapy Coin.
Valid invoices could do medicines such as these banning costs or even naturally impossible to obtain.
Confronted with triple digit increases, wholesalers and insurers can simply stop the storage and cover certain medicines-patients who will leave the treatments recommended by a physician. This kind non -medical rotation It is incredibly annoying to patients and often leads to worse health results.
In the past, shortcomings quickly followed the disorders of the medical supply chain. After Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico – which produces a range of medicinal products and other medical products – in 2017, hospitals and infusion centers experienced critical offering deficiencies. And hospital IV supplies were threatened once again in 2024 when Hurricane Helen It destroyed an important production plant, forcing hospitals to work around the next shortcomings.
Three -digit invoices would be an anthropogenic disaster that will prove to be as annoying as natural disasters.
Some wholesalers would undoubtedly try to store medicines before the start of invoices. In fact, some pharmacists are already saving In additional doses of common drugs.
Ironically, these markets could aggravate the chaos of the supply chain and leave other buyers without enough stock. In other words, invoices could cause significant losses before it even entered into force.
The supply chain is already under huge pressure. Last year he set a record for the Most drug shortages In American history, with providers and patients struggling to provide sufficient amounts of all from basic antibiotics to chemotherapy medicines. Making it much more expensive to introduce drugs would only make a bad condition worse.
Of course, there will be long -term damage in addition to direct deficiencies.
The already announced 15% invoice in European medicines and ingredients are expected to seduce the biotechnology industry with $ 13 billion in $ 19 billion at extra cost. Companies that cannot or will not transfer these expenses to consumers should make cuts elsewhere and Research and Development Budgets It will be the first in the fragment of cutting. This means fewer clinical trials, fewer treatments and fewer treatments for rescue in the future.
These cuts will also have geopolitical consequences. China’s biofarm sector It extends rapidly and making it the most expensive for research and production of drugs in both the United States and Europe will only help China close the gap. By paying our own industry, we make it easier for the competitor to overcome us.
The imposition of section 232 Invoices on drugs will worsen shortcomings, lead prices and leave patients with fewer options.
Patients can only hope that White House officials do not make this expensive mistake.
