This week, Neighbourhood Pharmacies rallied its Members and Partners and aligned stakeholders to call for the removal of all pharmaceutical products from the current list of products being considered by Finance Canada for the second wave of Canadian counter tariffs, set to go into effect on April 2.
We support the Government’s need to mount a strong response to the tariffs imposed on Canadian imports by the United States, including the use of Canadian counter tariffs as a deterrent. However, counter tariffs on pharmaceutical products pose a significant threat the health of Canadians and to the stability of Canada’s pharmaceutical supply chain. There are currently several pharmaceutical product categories on the proposed counter tariff list, which include some brand-name and generic medications such as antibiotics, allergy medications, and pain medications essential to patient care across Canada. The total estimated value of all potential imports implicated in these pharmaceutical product categories is more than $4.4 billion.
We have urgently recommended the following product codes be removed from counter tariff measures:
- 3004.10.00
- 3004.41.00
- 3004.42.00
- 3004.43.00
- 3004.50.00
- 3004.60.00
- 3004.90.00
Read our Letter to the Minister of Finance for more details.