President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at reducing the time it takes to approve pharmaceutical plants in the US, promoting domestic manufacturing and decreasing reliance on foreign producers.
The order directs the US Food and Drug Administration to streamline reviews and provide early support to domestic manufacturers before facilities come online, while also increasing fees for and inspections of foreign manufacturing plants.
The FDA will enhance enforcement of active-ingredient source reporting by foreign producers and consider publicly displaying non-compliant facilities.
The Environmental Protection Agency will accelerate construction approvals for new pharmaceutical facilities in the US, cutting down bureaucratic obstacles to critical domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Trump announced plans to impose new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports in the next two weeks, citing unfair trade practices and national security concerns.
The US imports over $200 billion in prescription drugs annually, with a significant share coming from Europe and Asia, and Trump’s move is expected to impact countries like India, which exports around $8.7 billion worth of pharmaceuticals to the US annually.
“We will permanently bring our medical supply chains back home,” Trump said in a statement, adding that the US will produce its own medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, and treatments.
Major pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Eli Lilly, and Roche have recently announced large-scale investments in US-based manufacturing, signaling a potential shift in long-term industry strategy.
The executive order aims to reduce regulatory barriers, speed up construction, and promote American-made prescription drugs, with Trump stating, “We don’t want to be buying our pharmaceuticals from other countries because if we’re in a war, we’re in a problem, we want to be able to make our own”.