Emergency Meeting with Pharmaceutical Export Companies to Respond to U.S. Tariffs

Health and Industry Ministries Gather Feedback on Support Needs for U.S.-Bound Export Companies

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 29th that they held an emergency meeting with pharmaceutical export companies, including SK Biopharmaceuticals, Samsung Biologics, Lotte Biologics, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, and Celltrion, to respond to U.S. tariff policies.

This meeting was organized to listen to the difficulties faced by companies due to trends in U.S. tariff imposition and to seek practical government support measures for these companies.

On September 25 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump announced via social media that unless pharmaceutical companies are building or have started construction on manufacturing plants in the United States, a 100% itemized tariff will be imposed on pharmaceuticals starting October 1.

Earlier, on September 3, the government announced follow-up support measures for U.S. tariff negotiations through a joint inter-ministerial effort. To stabilize the management of companies affected by tariffs, the government decided to provide 1.36 trillion won in emergency management funds and a record-high 270 trillion won in trade insurance. In addition, logistics cost support will be doubled from 30 million won to 60 million won, and a 34.9 billion won export-specialized support budget for the global expansion of the biohealth industry will be included in next year’s government proposal to support export industries facing challenging external conditions such as U.S. tariff imposition.

The government is utilizing an inter-ministerial support system for export damages in the biohealth sector to identify cases of damage caused by tariffs and connect companies with institutions capable of providing necessary assistance. As of September, the Korea Health Industry Development Institute has handled 11 consultations, while KOTRA has handled 56 cases.

Company representatives who attended the meeting expressed concerns about increased corporate burdens and weakened export competitiveness if the U.S. government imposes itemized tariffs. They requested the government to expand support for entering the U.S. market and to assist with strategies for diversifying export destinations.

Jung Eunyeong, Director General of Health Industry Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "Even amid external crises, we will pool our capabilities through public-private cooperation to effectively respond to tariffs and maintain the strong export momentum of pharmaceuticals."