Pharmaceutical exports to U.S. have surged by 46%

Are they preparing for a potential tariff shock?

Export to the U.S. increased from USD 760M→USD 1.11B…up 46% over the year

Exports to the U.S. surged in June…Korean pharmaceutical industry's 'proactive response' to U.S. tariff

Korea-made pharmaceutical exports 29%↑ over a year…'record high' after the COVID-19 special circumstance

Korea-made pharmaceutical exports to the United States have surged.

 

In the first half of this year, exports to the U.S.

 

amounted to approximately KRW 1.53 trillion, a 46% increase compared to the same period last year.

 

Notably, exports to the U.S.

 

saw an exceptional surge in June.

 

The export in June alone was almost the total of the preceding four months.

 

This surge is interpreted as a precautionary measure to prepare for the potential impact of pharmaceutical tariffs.

 

Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies are preparing for tariff shocks by pre-stocking inventory in the U.S.

 

Driven by increased exports to the U.S., South Korea's pharmaceutical export performance has broken previous records.

 

In the first half, Korea-made pharmaceutical exports reached KRW 6.38 trillion, a 29% year-on-year (YoY) increase.

 

Exports to U.S.

 

surged… June alone accounts for half of total pharmaceutical exports According to the Korea Customs Service on July 17, South Korea's pharmaceutical exports to the U.S.

 

in the first half of this year amounted to USD 1.11051 billion (approximately KRW 1.53 trillion).

 

This is a 46% increase compared to USD 758.43 million in the first half of last year.

 

Pharmaceutical export sales to U.S.

 

over the past two years (unit: USD 1 million, source: Korea Customs Service; dotted boxes show an increase from USD 758.43 million in 2024 to USD 1.11051 billion in 2025)

Exports notably surged in June.

 

Exports to the U.S.

 

in a single month reached USD 458.38 million (approximately KRW 630 billion).

 

This volume is equivalent to the export performance of the preceding four months (USD 475.82 million).

 

The proportion of total pharmaceutical export performance accounted for by the U.S.

 

also significantly expanded in June.

 

Until then, the monthly share of exports to U.S.

 

had been limited to 18% for two years, but it soared to 49% in June.

 

This means nearly half of all pharmaceutical exports in June went to the U.S.

 

Are they preparing for pharmaceutical tariff shock?… Enhanced stockpiling movement in the U.S. The pharmaceutical industry attributes the surge in pharmaceutical exports to the U.S.

 

to the potential pharmaceutical tariffs by the U.S.

 

government.

 

U.S.

 

President Donald Trump recently stated in a cabinet meeting that tariff of up to 200% could be imposed on imported pharmaceuticals.

 

He estimated the tariff imposition timeline to be "1 to 1.5 years from now." Specific tariff rates and targeted items are expected to be announced by the end of this month.

 

U.S.

 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said, "Whether tariffs will be imposed on the pharmaceutical and semiconductor sectors will be determined after the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act concludes at the end of this month." Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act details the Commerce Department to investigate the impact of imports on national security and enables the President to take responsive action.

 

The U.S.

 

government initiated an investigation related to this in April.

 

Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies have begun proactive responses.

 

Notably, their response efforts are reported to have intensified since the U.S.

 

government initiated the Section 232 investigation in April.

 

A strategy of pre-exporting pharmaceuticals to U.S.

 

local entities is being employed to stockpile inventory.

 

For example, Celltrion plans to secure and maintain a two-year inventory in the U.S.

 

in the short term.

 

Separately, it has moved to secure a production base in the U.S., having signed contracts for local contract manufacturing (CMO) of products sold in the U.S., and is also considering acquiring companies with U.S.

 

production facilities.

 

Other companies with a significant share of exports to U.S.

 

are also reported to have prepared similar strategies.

 

An analysis suggests that the short-term surge in exports to U.S.

 

is due to intensified efforts by these companies to stockpile local inventory.

 

Pharmaceutical exports totaled USD 4.62 billion in the first half of the year… 29% increase YoY The expansion of exports to U.S.

 

has driven the increase in overall pharmaceutical export performance.

 

In the first half of this year, South Korea's pharmaceutical exports amounted to USD 4.6166 billion (approximately KRW 6.38 trillion).

 

This is a 29% increase compared to USD 3.57795 billion in the first half of last year.

 

This is the highest record for a half-year period.

 

The previous record was USD 4.21219 billion in the second half of 2021.

 

That period was most heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, with special demand, as exports surged with the full export of domestically produced COVID-19 vaccines.

 

After that, exports returned to previous levels.

 

Although there was a steady increase every half-year, half-yearly figures had never exceeded USD 4 billion until now.

 

Half-yearly pharmaceutical performance changes (unit: USD 1 million, source: Korea Customs Service)

Pharmaceutical imports saw a slight increase from USD 4.45176 billion in the first half of last year to USD 4.6166 billion in the first half of this year.

 

With exports increasing significantly and imports remaining at previous levels, the pharmaceutical trade balance has improved substantially.

 

In the first half, the pharmaceutical trade balance recorded a surplus of USD 419.62 million.

 

Previously, the only half-yearly pharmaceutical trade balance surplus was in the second half of 2020 (a surplus of USD 86.11 million).