The LuLac Edition #5, 394, July 23rd, 2025

 

WRITE ON

WEDNESDAY

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This week we take a look at the drug tariffs that Trump wants to enforce through the eyes of Dale and Judy Shupp are the owners and operators of Shupp Family Farm in Tunkhannock. You get the real story from the proverbial horse’s mouth.

BLANKET DRUG

TARIFFS WILL HURT PENNSYLVANIANS

President Trump is right to crack down on unfair trade practices and bring manufacturing back to American soil. Here in Northeast Pennsylvania, we’ve watched too many factories close and too many jobs disappear over the last 40 years.

But there’s a difference between standing up to China and cutting off our own access to medicine. If we end up with blanket tariffs on medicines, including those made in Europe, it won’t hurt our adversaries. It will hurt Pennsylvania seniors, taxpayers and the healthcare workers in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Pottsville and beyond who keep our system running.

The Trump administration is proceeding with a national security probe into pharmaceutical imports, with tariffs soon expected to follow. That’s a fast track for a decision that could affect every pharmacy, doctor and patient in Pennsylvania, raising costs and threatening access to medications.

Our region is especially vulnerable. Pennsylvania is home to one of the oldest populations in the country, and many of our neighbors rely on public programs to afford their care. Nearly 3 million Pennsylvanians are on Medicare and another 3.1 million depend on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). That includes thousands of residents across our region.

President Trump has suggested the tariffs on European pharmaceuticals could go as high as 200%. That would leave European companies — and U.S. manufacturers that rely on European pharmaceutical ingredients — with no choice but to raise prices, lay off workers, or both.

The cost won’t just hit hospitals and insurers. It’ll hit local families directly, especially those on fixed incomes. With higher drug prices, some will skip doses. Others will be forced to choose between filling a prescription or paying the heating bill. Some medicines might disappear from local pharmacy shelves entirely.

These impacts won’t be limited to a few drugs. A staggering one-third of the active ingredients used in U.S.-consumed medicines come from Europe. Europe accounted for $128 billion in U.S. pharmaceutical imports in 2023.

Unlike cars or fine wines, medicines aren’t luxury goods. They can’t be swapped for American-made alternatives. We’re talking about cancer treatments and diabetes drugs. If a patient’s best or only option is a drug made in Europe, they’ll pay more, go without or be forced onto a less effective alternative.

Here in the Northeast Pennsylvania, the economic stakes are just as high as the medical ones. Our region is a key hub in our state’s logistics sector, which the life sciences rely on. Life sciences support nearly 250,000 jobs statewide and contributes $69 billion annually to our economy. More than 2,300 life sciences companies operate here, including over 1,100 labs. Much of that infrastructure depends on stable access to global pharmaceutical imports. If those links break, research and distribution slows, and companies pull back on investment and hiring.

President Trump has been right to prioritize national security and reduce our reliance on hostile regimes. Depending on China for critical medicines is a risk we can’t afford. That’s where our focus should be: relocating essential supply chains to friendly soil without delay.

But Europe isn’t the problem. We’ve partnered with allies like Ireland, Switzerland, and Germany for decades. Targeting their medicines won’t bring jobs back; it will raise prices and jeopardize care with no strategic benefit.

Tariffs have their place. But people don’t choose which medicine to buy; their doctors prescribe what they need. Politics shouldn’t prevent them from accessing it.

The Trump administration should make sure Pennsylvanians aren’t caught in the crossfire of a trade war.