The threat of tariffs is once again looming with United States President Donald Trump entertaining the idea of slapping up to 200 per cent tariffs on all pharmaceutical drugs entering the U.S., including from Canada, starting Aug. 1.
Jim Keon, head of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, says Trump, in one way or another, has been musing on this idea for the past six months.
Although Canada only accounts for up to five per cent of imports into the U.S., Keon says Canada could face challenges, including increased prices for certain medications or drug shortages.
“This is going to raise up health care costs in Canada. We know health care dollars are scarce in Canada, and we certainly don’t want B.C. PharmaCare to pay more for generic medication,” he explained.
It would also make it difficult for certain Canadian companies to justify production costs in Canada, potentially leading to discontinued products.
Keon says Trump’s trying to reduce reliance on other markets, where he’s juggled the idea of security concerns around the pretext that countries like China or India could withhold medication coming into the U.S. However, Keon explains that the perception of Canada should be much different.
“Canadian companies are trusted colleagues, Canada isn’t going to threaten to withhold medications going into the U.S, and so if you are concerned about security supply, having Canada within the tent as part of the production supply of medicines to Americans makes a lot of sense,” he said.
In the event of these tariffs coming into play on Aug. 1, companies might hesitate to invest in Canada if they are unsure about secure access to the U.S market.
Keon emphasizes that Canadian companies have advocated against tariffs on imported products to prevent higher health care costs in Canada.
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