Drugs

Generics Lobby Backs China Tariff Drug Exclusion

David McFarland

— 1 min read
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The Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) says it supports the administration’s decision not to include pharmaceuticals and certain pharmaceutical inputs on the most recent list of Chinese exports that would face U.S. tariffs when imported into this country. In a letter to U.S. trade representative Robert Lightizer, AAM says placing tariffs on the drugs would harm efforts to reduce drug prices in the U.S. The association makes these points: 

  •          imposition of tariffs on generic drugs, biosimilars, or their ingredients would “have a perverse effect on healthcare spending in the United States”;
  •          if a 25% tariff were imposed, it would likely have a greater impact on generic producers than on their branded counterparts because manufacturing represents a much greater proportion of generic producers’ costs;
  •          drug manufacturers are held to the same high quality and safety standards by FDA regardless of where pharmaceutical manufacturing takes place; and
  •          imposition of tariffs on pharmaceuticals is much more likely to increase the risk of drug shortages in the U.S. than it is to result in elimination of problematic Chinese polices and practices involving technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.

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