President Trump's tariffs in China are in place and hitting all products imported from the country — including a number of pharmaceutical drugs that Americans rely upon.

Chinese imports account for a significant proportion of U.S. prescriptions and over the counter drugs. Many of the Chinese-produced drugs are generics, which account for 91 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S.

“The Chinese market is a key supplier for key starting materials and [Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)] to the generic supply chain,” said John Murphy, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM).

“I will say they're sort of less important any longer for the actual finished fill and final manufacturing,” Murphy noted. “But really, it's the rare minerals, the key starting materials which are obviously critical to the supply chain.”

Stakeholders were hopeful that medications would be spared from tariffs. Some noted that the U.S. is a signatory to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 1994 Agreement on Trade in Pharmaceutical Products which calls for the elimination of tariffs on many pharmaceutical products. China has vowed to sue over the 10 percent tariffs, which it says are in violation of WTO rules.

But a White House official who spoke with The Hill said no exceptions are planned, and the administration will not be recognizing the WTO agreement.

U.S. relies on China

The country's dependence on China to maintain pharmaceutical........

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