The United States imports a wide range of pharmaceutical products, including packaged medications, vaccines, blood products, toxins, and hormones. The major sources for these imports in 2024 and 2025 have been primarily from Europe and India. Specifically:
- Packaged medications worth about $86.4 billion were imported in 2023, with top suppliers being Ireland (14.2%), Switzerland (14%), Germany (13.4%), and India (10.6%).
- Vaccines, blood products, and toxins imports were valued around $65.1 billion, notably with significant amounts from Ireland (23.2%) and Germany (20.9%).
- Other important pharmaceutical suppliers to the U.S. include Italy, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Singapore.
The United States imports both branded/patented medications and generic pharmaceuticals, with branded drugs recently facing new tariffs starting October 1, 2025, aiming to encourage domestic manufacturing. Generic drugs, often supplied by countries like India, are generally exempt from these tariffs because they play a crucial role in the U.S. medication supply (for instance, India supplies nearly 47% of U.S. generic medications). Pharmaceutical imports cover a broad scope encompassing both finished products and active ingredients needed for drug production domestically.
In summary, the main pharmaceuticals imported to the U.S. include branded and generic medications, vaccines, blood products, and toxins sourced mostly from European countries (Ireland, Germany, Switzerland) and India. Recent policy changes include tariffs targeting branded drugs imported from abroad unless companies are building U.S. manufacturing facilities.
