Download the SBS News app to watch news videos, highlights and trending topics in the one place. LIVE stream SBS World News Bulletin from SBS News app at 6.30PM AEDT daily, or watch FREE On Demand. However, drugs produced in the European Union and countries including Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom will be subject to lower levies under existing trade deals. Opposition leader Angus Taylor said the Coalition would work with the government to have the tariff removed or secure an exemption for Australian exports. Australia’s PBS — under which the federal government negotiates medicine prices directly with suppliers to make them cheaper for Australians — has long been criticised by the US pharmaceutical lobby.
United States President Donald Trump has slapped a 100 per cent tariff on some pharmaceutical drugs made outside the US, with Australian-made products facing the highest levy despite carve-outs for other countries. Trump signed the executive order overnight which imposes a 100 per cent tariff on some foreign-made pharmaceutical drugs. “We keep sending this clearest of possible messages to the US because we know they get the big drug companies in their ear, trying jiohotstar casino to unpick the PBS here in Australia and equivalent schemes in other countries around the world,” he told Sunrise. The group called for tariffs on Australian-made drugs, but Butler said on Friday the government would not negotiate with the US on changes to the scheme. Trump’s order states that companies that move production to the US will face a reduced tariff of 20 per cent.
The biotech company has been investing heavily in US manufacturing to sidestep the tariff. Australia exported about $1.91 billion worth of pharmaceuticals to the US last year, according to UN Comtrade data. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox. Trump signed the executive order overnight, delivering on a long-standing promise to tax foreign-made pharmaceuticals in a bid to pressure manufacturers to shift production to the US. By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS. Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world.