The tariff on imported patented medicines has now reached every remaining drugmaker, and generic drugs are not part of it. A proclamation President Trump signed April 2, 2026, puts a 100 percent duty on imported patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients, and the White House text says the duty applies to the remaining companies from Sept. 29, 2026.

How the tariff phased in

The proclamation started the duty in two steps. For companies named in a list called Annex III, it took effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on July 31, 2026. For all other companies, the start date was Sept. 29, 2026. That second date is the one that reached the rest of the industry.

The duty is collected on imports at the border. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security says Customs and Border Protection applies any adjustment when an importer files its entry paperwork. Neither the proclamation nor the Commerce notice says what the duty will do to pharmacy prices.

Generics stay out

The proclamation says generic drugs and their ingredients “shall not be subject to tariffs pursuant to section 232 at this time.” Biosimilars, the lower-cost copies of biologic medicines, are included in that exemption. The Commerce notice repeats it: “At this time, Section 232 Pharmaceutical Tariffs do not apply to generic pharmaceutical products.” The notice also adds unpatented animal health products to the definition of generic articles.

The words “at this time” matter. They leave room for the administration to change the scope later, and neither document sets a date for a review.

Products made in the United States are also outside the tariffs, the proclamation says.

The people closest to the issue are patients on brand-name drugs with no generic version, such as many newer cancer, diabetes and arthritis medicines. Those who fill generic prescriptions are covered by the exemption. A person who is not sure which kind a prescription is can ask the pharmacist whether it is a generic or a brand.

The generic exemption carries the words “at this time,” and Commerce is still taking company requests for the zero rate on specialty drugs.

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Lower rates and zero rates

The 100 percent figure is the top rate, and many products pay less. The proclamation sets a 15 percent rate for products of Japan, the European Union, South Korea, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein, subject to any lower rate that applies. For the United Kingdom, the rate is 10 percent and then falls to zero to the extent a future U.S.-U.K. pharmaceutical pricing agreement requires.

Companies with an approved plan to build production in the United States pay 20 percent, a rate that rises to 100 percent on April 2, 2030. Companies with eligible most-favored-nation pricing agreements pay zero until Jan. 20, 2029. The lists of which companies qualify sit in annexes separate from the proclamation’s text.

A zero rate also covers a set of specialty products, including orphan-only drugs for rare diseases, nuclear medicines, plasma-derived therapies, fertility treatments, cell and gene therapies, and antibody drug conjugates. Conditions apply, such as the product coming from a country with a trade and security agreement or meeting an urgent U.S. health need.

The Commerce notice of Sept. 23

On Sept. 23, 2026, the Bureau of Industry and Security published guidance in the Federal Register at 91 FR 60360. It lists 19 eligible jurisdictions, including the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, India, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and explains how a company can ask for the zero rate by showing an urgent U.S. health need. Requests go by email to [email protected], and the agency says it will “make an individual, fact-specific, company-specific decision for each request.”

Each request covers one product. Commerce consults the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Health and Human Services, then tells the company in writing.

What the tariff does not say

Nowhere does either document say a patient will pay more at the counter. Insurance plans, pharmacy benefit managers and the drugmakers decide how a higher import cost shows up in prices, if at all. The documents also do not say how many drugs are caught.

Checking a prescription

For anyone on a brand-name medicine, the useful facts are short. A pharmacist can say whether a prescription is filled with a generic or a brand-name drug. Where the drug is made and which company holds the patent matter for the tariff, and neither appears on the receipt. What shows up there is the copay.

The first sign of any change is likely to be a notice from a health plan or pharmacy about a drug’s cost or coverage. Keeping the latest explanation of benefits makes it easy to compare the copay before and after. Anyone who sees a sudden jump can ask the plan whether the drug has moved to a different tier.

The White House text and the Commerce notice remain the places where any change to the generic exemption or the rates would first appear.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.