The White House is advancing a policy that would raise drug prices, stifle medical innovation, and hand China a strategic edge in the race for global technological dominance.

No, Joe Biden hasn’t somehow returned to office. This time, the ill-advised idea — tariffs on imported medicines — comes from Donald Trump himself. Tariffs betray Republicans’ longstanding affinity for free markets and low taxes. And they’d put American patients and businesses in harm’s way. (RELATED: ROOKE: China’s Using Unconventional Warfare To Fight Trump’s Tariffs)

Let’s start with the obvious. Tariffs are taxes. The domestic firms that import goods from abroad have to pay them. And they typically pass the cost along to American consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced supply. When it comes to medicines, those downstream effects aren’t just inconvenient. They’re dangerous.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 05: A small business owners holds a sign during a press conference in the Lyndon Baines Johnson Room at the U.S. Capitol on May 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats gathered to address how U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs were affecting small businesses. (Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

Millions of Americans depend on imported medicines to treat serious conditions, from cancer and autoimmune disorders to diabetes and blood clots. If Washington slaps tariffs on those imports, drug prices could soar, forcing patients to pay more for the same product. Some manufacturers might even scale back production or reduce how many drugs they’ll export to the United States.........

© The Daily Caller