Trump Trade War May Hit Musk’s Go-To Weight-Loss Drug: Economic and Health Impact Explored

Trump Trade War May Hit Musk’s Go-To Weight-Loss Drug: U.S. President Donald Trump late on Tuesday (April 8, 2025) reiterated he would impose tariffs on imports of pharmaceutical products that have long been spared from past trade disputes due to the potential for harm to patients.

During a Republican Party fundraiser, Trump announced the plan, saying: “We’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals. And when they hear that, they will leave China.” He further added that the tariffs would be at an unprecedented level, which would be announced soon.

In the past, the majority of nations, including the US, have maintained little or no tariffs on completed drugs, after a World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal in 1995 to make healthcare affordable. But the new action is likely to upset the pharmaceutical sector and may impact essential drugs, including popular weight loss injections like Mounjaro and Ozempic, which are commonly used by millions in the UK.

President Trump excluded them from his announcement of sweeping import tariffs last week, but in recent weeks he introduced tariffs on raw ingredients and supplies from China that are used by the industry, and has repeatedly singled out the manufacturing of drugs in Europe as a problem he intends to tackle through a tariff announcement. Tariffs could be "25% and higher", he has said.

Experts warn that Trump's tariff strategy could disrupt the global supply of crucial medications, including popular weight loss injections like Mounjaro and Ozempic, which are widely used by millions in the UK. Ozempic is the drug that even billionaire and Trump’s adviser Elon Musk admitted to using.

In December last year, Musk posted a photo of himself in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, dressed as Santa Claus but without his usual large belly, on X. He said, "Like Cocaine Bear, but Santa and Ozempic!" Musk later clarified in another post that he’s using the Mounjaro brand-name version, but joked that "the awkward moniker didn't have the same ring to it."

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House, while Trump was being examined, that the president was undergoing his "routine and long-scheduled physical." She promised a "readout from the White House physician" that would be released "as soon as we possibly can" and suggested the details would be comprehensive.

"I can confirm the president is in very good shape," Leavitt said.

Chief executive of the Company Chemists' Association — which represents large high street chemists such as Boots and Superdrug — Malcolm Harrison told MailOnline that new trade tariffs could certainly impact the supply of the jabs.

He added: 'Global medicines supply chains are complex and often involve the movement of raw ingredients, excipients, packaging materials, and finished products across several international borders.

'We urge the government to closely monitor the situation.'

Professor Martin McKee, a public health expert at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also told The i that tariffs on pharmaceuticals could spark 'chaos'.

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He added: 'We don't know how particular drugs like weight-loss drugs will be impacted. But we can't rule out they will be disrupted, along with everything else.'

The pharmaceutical supply chain is already 'complex', he also told MailOnline.

' This is why trade negotiations take so long and why decisions on tariffs should not be conjured up by those who do not understand them,' he added.

'No doubt the manufacturers of any medicine sold in the United States will be scrambling to understand the consequences of President Trump's constantly changing orders, but anyone who thinks they know what will happen is probably deluding themselves.

'The one thing that is certain is that this is not a good time to be making major investments in the United States.'

Professor Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), meanwhile, warned that patients could 'end up the casualties in a global trade war'.

'Supply chain vulnerabilities make it harder for patients to access treatment, causing frustration, anxiety and in some cases, harm to patient health,' she added.

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