US President Donald Trump's fresh tariff hike on branded pharmaceuticals could dampen investment and research in Australia's $2.6 billion export industry.

On Friday, Mr Trump said the US would place a 100 per cent tariff on branded or patented pharmaceutical product imports from October 1 unless a pharmaceutical company was building a manufacturing plant in the US.

There are fears Australian biotech CSL - one of the country's largest companies - and several other local industry players could be hurt by the move, which comes after Mr Trump slapped a 50 per cent tariff on Australian steel and aluminium imports to the US in June.

Lowy Institute fellow Jenny Gordon said "a bigger risk is more long-term in that it's the decline in investment in biotech and the mRNA vaccines, the downplaying

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