US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could potentially compromise Taiwan’s access to affordable US-made medical drugs that have no generic alternatives, a top health official told lawmakers yesterday.
Taiwan sources 176 medical drugs from the US, including 72 key, life-saving medicines that cannot be replaced due to restrictions on patented formulae, National Health Insurance Administration Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said at a meeting at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
He made the comments in response to expressions of concern from lawmakers that Washington’s tariffs on pharmaceutical chemical importers could raise the cost of US-made drugs that Taiwan depends on.
Photo: CNA
Speaking about the state of Taiwan’s medical imports, Shih said a rise in pharmaceutical costs would negatively impact Taiwanese, as the National Health Insurance (NHI) does not cover many crucial drugs made in the US.
The critical medical drugs whose costs might see steep increases include 24 drugs needed by people with cancer or who are immunocompromised and 18 drugs used for hematological conditions or infections, he said.
Taiwan also imports three types of medical equipment from the US that are rarely used, but nearly impossible to replace, he said.
The nation buys 83 percent of NHI-covered drugs from domestic sources and imports most of its foreign-made drugs from Europe, but the US exerts control over many types of hard-to-replace cancer drugs, he said.
US entities own 214 certificates for manufacturing medical drugs and equipment in Taiwan, including 60 that cover a product with an active patent, he said.
The government does not foresee drug shortages in the immediate future and is implementing measures to create a reserve of medicines in case of disruption to supply chains, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS