Americans' frustration with the cost of their prescriptions is real and justified. Unlike a hospital bill that trickles in months after a procedure, a pharmacy co-pay arrives every time the bottle runs out. That recurring sting has given fresh political traction to President Donald Trump's call for a "small" tariff on imported medicines that would escalate to 150% and then 250% within 1 to 1.5 years.

The promise is simple: by discouraging overseas production, factories are lured home, jobs are created, and prices are lowered by avoiding tariffs. This is the logic, but does it track?

A different perspective suggests tariffs would do the opposite: raise prices in the near term, jeopardize supply, and sap the investment that fuels tomorrow's cures.

Patients Will Pay

Tariffs act first an

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