While the announcement has prompted firms like Celltrion and SK Biopharmaceuticals to activate contingency strategies, industry analysts say the broader impact on the Korean pharmaceutical sector is likely to be modest — at least for now.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said the United States would impose high tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, part of what he described as a broader effort to onshore critical industries.
“They’re going to be tariffs at a very high rate, like 200 percent,” Trump said, adding that companies would have “about a year, year and a half” to adjust before the tariffs take effect.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later told CNBC that more specific details about the tariff plan would be released by the end of the month.
In Seoul, the announcement sent pharmaceutical stocks into a brief tailspin before recovering, as major players rushed to reassure investors.
Celltrion published a letter to shareholders early Wednesday, outlining measures it has already taken to shield itself from possible fallout. The company said it had stockpiled two years’ worth of product inventory for the U.S. market and had secured contracts with American contract manufacturing organizations to localize production.
The firm is reportedly weighing the acquisition of a U.S.-based pharmaceutical manufacturer to solidify its local presence.
SK Biopharmaceuticals, which markets the epilepsy drug Cenobamate in the U.S., said it has completed due diligence on a production facility in Puerto Rico and secured U.S.-based manufacturing partners approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
Samsung Biologics said it expected minimal direct exposure, given its focus on outsourced development and production rather than direct exports.
Some industry observers expressed skepticism about the policy’s trajectory, noting that similar threats from Trump did not translate into major structural changes for the industry.
“South Korea has relatively few drug substance or finished drug exporters at present, aside from major pharmaceutical companies,” said Hwang Ju-rie, director of public and international relations at the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization. “For tariffs to significantly impact the industry, we would need at least another decade, as most biotech firms remain in the research and development phase.”
reporter
Kim Dong-young
davekim0807@ajupress.com
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