The Trump Administration has officially reduced tariffs on patented pharmaceuticals and associated pharmaceutical ingredients imported from the United Kingdom (UK) from 10% to 0%. This change, effective July 31, 2026, is the result of an agreement between the United States and the UK, which created a carve out for UK origin pharmaceutical products from the recent national security tariffs imposed on patented pharmaceuticals pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (Section 232).
On April 2, 2026, the Trump Administration imposed Section 232 tariffs on imports of patented pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients. The Section 232 tariffs, which imposed a 100% ad valorem baseline duty rate on imported patented pharmaceutical products provided important exceptions, including a 15% tariff for products of certain countries with a trade deal with the United States. Additionally, imports from the UK were subject to a reduced duty rate of 10% ad valorem with a commitment to further reduce tariffs to 0% upon the finalization of an agreement on pharmaceutical pricing between the two countries.
On April 2, 2026, the United States and the UK signed the “Arrangement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Pharmaceutical Pricing” (Arrangement). The Arrangement, which commits the UK on certain pricing and spending benchmarks on pharmaceutical products, correspondingly requires the United States to exempt UK origin pharmaceutical products from Section 232 tariffs during the period of January 1, 2026, through January 19, 2029. The exemption is conditional on major UK pharmaceutical companies entering into agreements with the U.S. administration. The official announcement confirms that this requirement is currently being met.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance (CSMS # 69415934) on August 1, 2026, stating that effective July 31, 2026, entries of patented pharmaceuticals and associated pharmaceutical ingredients imported from the United Kingdom must enter under tariff heading 9903.04.63, which correlates to a 0% duty rate.
Husch Blackwell’s International Trade and Supply Chain team will continue to monitor and provide updates as they become available. For specific questions, please contact your Husch Blackwell attorney.