WASHINGTON, DC -- During a CNBC interview yesterday, President Trump announced his intent to impose a 250 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals. If implemented, this action would cost Americans billions of dollars, disrupt the drug supply chain, and put patients’ access to life-saving drugs at risk.

President Trump told CNBC his pharmaceutical tariffs will roll out in phases: “We will be putting an initially small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in one year, one and a half years maximum, it is going to go to 150 percent and then it is going to go to 250 percent because we want pharmaceuticals made in our country.”

U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) panned the reckless, ill-conceived threat as a massive price increase on consumers, highlighted President Trump’s lack of strategy and refusal to use Rx drug price negotiating tools he already has, and pointed out that the timeline for standing up a new FDA-approved pharmaceutical manufacturing facility does not align with Trump’s tariff threats.

“First President Trump depleted the FDA, then he delayed price cuts on prescription drugs. Now he’s threatening massive price hikes on people’s prescription medications. Under Trump, billionaires get bigger tax breaks while working people get higher prices,” said Senator Reed.

“The American people deserve real relief when it comes to high drug prices,” Reed continued. “But President Trump’s haphazard approach is counterproductive. Instead of lowering costs, President Trump is threatening new, backdoor taxes to make prescription drugs even more expensive for people who are already struggling with higher medical bills and less access to health insurance because of his other misguided policies. Through a myriad of ways, President Trump is actively raising people’s premiums and out of pocket costs for needed medications.”

Reed noted that in addition to adding new taxes onto prescription drugs, President Trump is preventing the free market from driving down prices for seniors on Medicare.

Senator Reed helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which permitted the federal government to use its massive purchasing power to negotiate for better prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D – just like the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs negotiates for lower prices for veterans’ medications. The IRA has already helped lower costs for several of the most frequently used prescriptions. But rather than expanding and accelerating the program, President Trump hamstrung it, permitting drug manufacturers to set prices unchecked for an additional four years.

Reed stated: “When it comes to lowering prescription drug costs, President Trump had a clear choice and he clearly chose to boost industry profits at the expense of consumers and Medicare enrollees.”

According to KFF, President Trump’s actions will: “delay negotiation of so-called ‘small molecule’ drugs beyond seven years after FDA approval under current law.”

Although details and a comprehensive plan from the Trump White House on his prescription drug price hike are lacking, some Wall Street analysts believe Trump’s tariff threat is positive news for the industry “because tariffs will not be implemented immediately…and it is unclear if the administration will follow through in the future.” The move is likely to push the price of generic drugs higher and could lead to shortages.

Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, reacted to the news by telling NBC News: “Tariffs are taxes on patients.” The story noted: “Kesselheim expects tariffs will raise prices, especially for generic drugs produced in countries like India and China.”

Reed says instead of making Americans pay more at the pharmacy counter, the White House should use the tools it already has to bring down costs and work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to address drug affordability and effectively incentivize increased investment in the U.S.