00:00He'll be setting 100% tariffs on generic drugs from August of 2028.
00:05Those will eventually go up.
00:07Remember, we're also expecting, according to sources,
00:09that we might get a list of other tariffs on dozens of other countries as well.
00:14We had already heard what happened to Canada with a 50% tariff on some Canadian goods,
00:19which will take effect in about 30 days.
00:21Let's discuss all of this and bring in senior White House reporter Mika Solner.
00:25Mika, so first of all, let's start with the generic drugs.
00:28I mean, President Trump has never been happy with the price of pharmaceuticals in the U.S.
00:33What are we expecting?
00:36Yeah, I mean, we saw the surprise announcement tonight from the president
00:40essentially declaring another major push in his most favored nation's drug pricing policy
00:46that's been a major issue for the administration that they're really trying to advocate for.
00:52The president is arguing, of course,
00:55that this is in line with trying to make prescription drugs and drug prices in the U.S.
01:01comparable to other nations with high-cost drugs.
01:06So essentially, he's seeing this as a way to level the playing field when it comes to imposing tariffs,
01:12not only on branded drugs, as he has done previously in the past and has declared an executive order on
01:17in April,
01:17but now expanding it to generic drugs, which is about more than 90 percent of drugs here in the U
01:22.S.
01:23And we're potentially expecting more tariffs on other countries and just a different list of products as well this week?
01:33Yeah, it's very possible.
01:36We do see some expectations on that.
01:38The White House has been very bullish on this.
01:39We saw what the president had announced with Canada in terms of imposing tariffs further there.
01:46Tariffs is, of course, a cornerstone of the White House's trade policy,
01:50and the president has continued to make his push on that despite some of the legal challenges he faced
01:55with the Supreme Court striking down some of his efforts to impose tariffs globally.
02:01It's a very sensitive issue for the president, I would argue.
02:04So, yeah, we can expect to see more on this front.
02:07And this is also one of these issues that can really remain in place,
02:11even without the control of Congress next year,
02:15potentially if Republicans lose one chamber or both and beyond Trump as he leaves office.
02:22So this is one way that he can kind of make some permanent impact.
02:26So, Mika, let's talk a little bit about the upcoming midterm elections in November.
02:30How are we setting up and how would these new tariffs actually play
02:34into whatever narrative the president is trying to craft right now?
02:40Yeah, I mean, look, the White House has really struggled with crafting a strong affordability message
02:45when it comes to cost of living for Americans.
02:48The Trump administration has really tried to foster their most favored nation's drug pricing policy
02:53as a major win for them when it comes to this issue.
02:56I think the president is viewing tariffs as one way that he believes that he is putting U.S.
03:01on a fair playing field compared to other nations that offer lower cost of drugs.
03:07And look, the president has already introduced things like Trump Rx,
03:11which has offered drug pricing options for Americans through a government-sponsored website.
03:16That's one thing that they're touting as an affordability win for voters
03:20and saying that, you know, this is one way that they're trying to make health care affordable as well.
03:26So I think we'll continue to see this push.
03:28We're seeing the president on the campaign trail.
03:29He'll be out tomorrow in Georgia.
03:31We're seeing administration officials continue to help this.
03:33So there'll be a lot before November.
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