What countries are supplying them to the U.S.?
Over the past decade or so, production for those drugs has increasingly moved to other countries, with India and China as the leading sources—which has raised national security concerns from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.
India supplies roughly half of the generic drugs in the U.S., according to a 2025 report from the Senate Committee on Aging. The report additionally found that about 80% of the active pharmaceutical ingredients used by Indian manufacturers are supplied by China.
China also supplies many commonly used generic drugs—a 2023 report from a lobbying organization called the Coalition for a Prosperous America found that China accounts for about 95% of imports of ibuprofen and 70% of imports of acetaminophen.
How would Trump’s planned tariffs impact the generic drug market in the U.S.?
“Tariffs are most effective when they are threatened but not actually applied. Here, the administration is sending a ‘Made in America’ message to the generics industry: In other words, make it here or sell it elsewhere,” Feldman told TIME. “Generic drugs account for 90% of pharmaceutical sales in the U.S, which means that the impact of the drugs would be far-reaching.”