President-elect Trump campaigned on imposing broad, steep tariffs to create more jobs in the U.S. and combat China. If enacted, these taxes would send the U.S. health care industry scrambling and could eventually force patients and insurers to shell out more for medical care.
But no one in the industry is in a tizzy just yet, at least not publicly. There are two reasons for that. One: No one knows what Trump is actually going to do. Two: They’re pushing hard for carve-outs behind the scenes.
The tariffs Trump promised — 60% on Chinese imports and up to 20% on other imports — are bigger and more sweeping than those Trump imposed during his first term, which were targeted to specific items. A number of health care products, including finished drugs and active ingredients, were exempted from the first term taxes. It’s unclear whether that will happen next year, but some health care leaders are expressing confidence they’ll be carved out.
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