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“The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) and its nearly 40 distributor members — the vital link between 1,200 healthcare manufacturers and approximately 330,000 providers — strongly believe that strategic investments in domestic manufacturing can bolster supply chain resilience. However, we respectfully urge caution on instituting tariffs on sectors that will impact medical products. Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would strain the pharmaceutical supply chain and could adversely affect American patients, whether through increased medical product costs or manufacturers leaving the market. Accordingly, we ask the administration to consider establishing exemptions for pharmaceutical products and long implementation timelines to maintain the safe and efficient delivery of approximately 10 million medicines and healthcare products every day.
“We are concerned that placing tariffs on generic drug products produced outside the U.S. will put additional pressure on an industry that is already experiencing financial distress. Distributors and generic manufacturers and cannot absorb the rising costs of broad tariffs. It is worth noting that distributors operate on low profit margins — 0.3 percent. As a result, the U.S. will likely see new and worsened shortages of important medications and the costs will be passed down to payers and patients, including those in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
“HDA supports strategic federal investments to boost domestic manufacturing of medical products, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials and finished-dose medicines for greater supply chain resilience. To this end, we encourage President Trump and his administration to explore long-term strategic investments and incentives for domestic manufacturing that will augment the availability and safe and affordable medicines. HDA will continue to work with the administration to help ensure patients can obtain the medications they need, safely and efficiently.”
To read HDA’s full policy position on tariffs for pharmaceutical products, click here.
HDA Statement on Proposed Tariffs of Pharmaceutical Products
February 02, 2025 HDA released a statement in response to President Donald J. Trump’s announcement on pledged tariffs for pharmaceuticals:“The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) and its nearly 40 distributor members — the vital link between 1,200 healthcare manufacturers and approximately 330,000 providers — strongly believe that strategic investments in domestic manufacturing can bolster supply chain resilience. However, we respectfully urge caution on instituting tariffs on sectors that will impact medical products. Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would strain the pharmaceutical supply chain and could adversely affect American patients, whether through increased medical product costs or manufacturers leaving the market. Accordingly, we ask the administration to consider establishing exemptions for pharmaceutical products and long implementation timelines to maintain the safe and efficient delivery of approximately 10 million medicines and healthcare products every day.
“We are concerned that placing tariffs on generic drug products produced outside the U.S. will put additional pressure on an industry that is already experiencing financial distress. Distributors and generic manufacturers and cannot absorb the rising costs of broad tariffs. It is worth noting that distributors operate on low profit margins — 0.3 percent. As a result, the U.S. will likely see new and worsened shortages of important medications and the costs will be passed down to payers and patients, including those in the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
“HDA supports strategic federal investments to boost domestic manufacturing of medical products, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients, key starting materials and finished-dose medicines for greater supply chain resilience. To this end, we encourage President Trump and his administration to explore long-term strategic investments and incentives for domestic manufacturing that will augment the availability and safe and affordable medicines. HDA will continue to work with the administration to help ensure patients can obtain the medications they need, safely and efficiently.”
To read HDA’s full policy position on tariffs for pharmaceutical products, click here.
About HDA
The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) represents primary pharmaceutical distributors — the vital link between the nation’s pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies, hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics and others nationwide. Since 1876, HDA has helped members navigate regulations and innovations to get the right medicines to the right patients at the right time, safely and efficiently. The HDA Research Foundation, HDA’s nonprofit charitable foundation, serves the healthcare industry by providing research and education focused on priority healthcare supply chain issues.