Health Minister Mark Butler is trying to determine the extent to which the US tariffs on pharmaceuticals will impact Australia. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The Federal Government is desperately trying to get more details about US President Donald Trump’s plan to slap a 100 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals entering the United States.
Australia is hoping for exemptions, particularly for blood and plasma products, but it has so far been left clueless as to what the President’s full intent is.
It is leading to Opposition accusations that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Labor government aren’t doing enough to keep the Trump Administration on side.
Even Mr Albanese’s “warm conversation” with the President at the United Nations gathering in New York last week is being mocked by the Coalition.
“In fact, I would put it to you that every time Mr Albanese says something’s happened with the White House, ‘I’ve had a warm conversation,’ in the next breath, President Trump announces something detrimental to Australia,” shadow minister Michaelia Cash said on Sky News.
Mr Trump took to social media on Friday (26 September), announcing that his promised tariffs on pharmaceuticals will kick in this Wednesday.
“Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product, unless a Company IS BUILDING their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plant in America,” he wrote [verbatim].
“IS BUILDING will be defined as ‘breaking ground’ and/or ‘under construction’.
“There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Australian pharmaceutical exports to the US are worth more than $2 billion a year.
Health Minister Mark Butler has admitted that the Federal Government doesn’t yet know what the implications will be for Australia, including whether blood and plasma will be subject to the tariff.
“We’re still seeking further detail about that,” he told reporters on Sunday.
“As I’ve said a couple of times before publicly, the vast bulk of our pharmaceutical exports to the US are blood and plasma products.
“It’s not clear that they are captured by the scope of the announcement the US President made this week.
“Also, as people know, there is an exemption on tariffs if a company involved was in the process of making capital investment in the US.
“Our big exporter of blood and plasma products [biotech giant CSL] says that they are doing that as well. It’s not clear that this is going to have a huge impact on our sector.
“Obviously, there will be some companies captured by it, and there are still small start-ups who seek to export their new medicines to the US because it’s such an important platform for global exposure; they may well be hit.
“I’m not saying there’s nothing in this, but we are trying to understand the exact scope and impact of it a little better.”
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has expressed the Coalition’s displeasure at the tariff announcement, saying the shadow cabinet is ready to help the government in any way it can to protect the nation’s pharmaceutical sector and jobs.
But she says the Prime Minister has been asleep at the wheel over the issue.
“This is a shocking but unsurprising development, and it is moments like this when a strong direct relationship with the President of the United States is critical to help save Aussie jobs,” Ms Ley said.
“While other leaders are able to pick up the phone to the President, Anthony Albanese has not established such a relationship.”
The Opposition Leader pointed out that the Coalition, when in office, had successfully negotiated the US Free Trade Agreement without adversely impacting important local health programs, such as the PBS.
She added that in April this year, the Coalition wrote to the PM to “urgently request” that the Federal Government make a comprehensive submission in response to the US Government’s Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Pharmaceuticals.
“We believed it was critical that Australia’s voice was put forward and heard clearly in that process, but we remain unsure whether the government made any representations on behalf of Australia and our important pharmaceutical industry,” Ms Ley said.
“We remain ready to work constructively with the government to protect Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers, safeguard the PBS and uphold Australia’s interests in international trade and public health.
“This is yet another issue the Prime Minister must address in his meeting with the US President in October, but he should not wait until then.
“Ambassador [Kevin] Rudd should be working in earnest to seek an immediate reprieve for Australian exporters.”
