Australian Pharmaceuticals on High Alert as Trump Unleashes Devastating 100% Tariff – But Health Minister Reveals Shocking Exemption Loophole
- In a stunning announcement, US President Donald Trump has slapped a 100% tariff on foreign-made pharmaceuticals, sending shockwaves through the Australian pharmaceutical industry
- But Health Minister Mark Butler has revealed a glaring exemption loophole that could save Australian blood and plasma products from the crippling tariff
- The tariff, set to take effect on October 1, has sparked outrage among politicians and industry leaders, with the opposition claiming it’s a direct result of Anthony Albanese’s handling of the Australia-US relationship
Australian pharmaceutical exports to the US, worth over $2 billion in 2024, are reeling from US President Donald Trump’s bombshell announcement to impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made pharmaceuticals. However, Health Minister Mark Butler has revealed a shocking exemption loophole that could save Australian blood and plasma products from the devastating tariff.
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Butler played down concerns, pointing out that Trump himself said there would be exemptions for companies involved in capital investment in the US. “The vast bulk of our exports to the US are actually blood and plasma products, so it’s not entirely clear whether they are captured by the scope of the announcement the President made a few days ago,” he said.
In a bold prediction, Mr Butler expressed confidence that Australian blood and plasma products would be exempt from the tariff, citing a major exporter’s ongoing capital investment in the US. “We do think that there’s a very high likelihood the major exporter that accounts for the vast bulk of our exports to the US will not be captured by this new announcement, either because of the nature of their product or because of the capital investment they’re undertaking right now in the US,” he said.
Trump’s announcement has sparked outrage among politicians and industry leaders, with opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash claiming it’s a direct result of Anthony Albanese’s handling of the Australia-US relationship. “The relationship in Washington is not strong,” Senator Cash declared. “And because it’s not strong, Mr Albanese is not able to pick up the phone like other world leaders are able to do, and speak directly to the US president about the impact of his announcement on Australia.”
The Coalition has expressed “incredibly concerned” sentiments over the announcement, with Senator Cash adding that the wider concern is Australia’s lack of a strong relationship with Washington, which she blames on Mr Albanese. However, Mr Albanese has previously spoken fondly of Trump, describing their brief encounter in New York as “very warm” and saying he looks forward to sitting down with him again next month.
The 100% tariff is set to take effect on October 1, with Trump clarifying that building facilities in the US would mean “breaking ground” or being “under construction”. The move has sparked fears over the impact on Australian jobs and the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, with Mr Butler acknowledging that “certainly, it’s not nothing” and that some medicine exporters may still be captured by the tariffs.