Fresh tariffs are coming

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: “Fresh Tariffs Are Coming”

Date: July 22, 2026
Host: Kimberly Adams

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Episode Overview

This fast-paced episode focuses on major developments in U.S. trade policy, particularly the Trump administration's plans for sweeping new tariffs—including drastic hikes on generic drugs—and the resulting business and legal uncertainty. The episode also covers significant Medicaid payment pauses affecting California and Minnesota, and explores the groundbreaking release of a massive health data set by the NIH, highlighting both innovations and funding challenges. Packed with expert interviews and incisive analysis, the episode arms listeners with timely insights on economic and healthcare news shaping the day.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump Administration’s Fresh Tariffs

(01:00–03:19)

• Announcement of Sweeping Tariffs:
  President Trump plans to impose a 100% tariff on imported generic drugs starting in 2028, doubling to 200% the following year.

  • Kimberly Adams: “President Trump said on Truth Social last night that he's planning a 100% tariff on generic drugs coming into the US starting in 2028, which would jump to 200% a year after.” (01:05)

• Replacement of Expiring Levies:
  These new tariffs will replace temporary 10% tariffs set after a Supreme Court ruling limited the president’s power to levy duties by national emergency.

• Tariffs Broad in Scope:

  • Covering 60 countries and about 99% of U.S. trade.
    • Jamison Greer, U.S. Trade Representative: “Well, it covers 60 countries, 6-0, and about 99% of our trade.” (01:53)
  • New duties range from 10% to 12.5% on a variety of goods, with justification shifting to allegations of forced labor in supply chains.

• Legal Maneuvering & Business Uncertainty:

  • Laura Veldkamp, Columbia Business School:
    “This really looks like an excuse to try to resurrect the original tariffs under some other guise.” (02:16)

  • Likelihood of legal challenges and prolonged uncertainty for U.S. companies:

    • Veldkamp: “These new tariffs will add to uncertainty for U.S. businesses because they'll probably be challenged in court. That could be a long process leaving US Companies in limbo.” (02:26)

• International Response:

  • Wendy Cutler, Asia Society Policy Institute:
    “Importers from other countries may feel that a decision on a certain country was unfair and, you know, may decide that they want to challenge a specific finding...” (02:33)

• Upcoming Tariff Investigations:
  Further tariffs on nations said to be overproducing and undercutting prices appear unlikely before the coming midterms.

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2. Federal Medicaid Payment Pauses

(03:19–04:27)

• Payments Halted for California & Minnesota:
  The Department of Health and Human Services has frozen over $1 billion in Medicaid payments to these states as part of an anti-fraud initiative.

• Expert Concerns Over Collateral Damage:

  • Vivian Ho, Health Economist, Rice University:
    “There is a small share of providers that are submitting fraudulent claims, but it's a small portion of the entire amount of care being delivered.” (03:42)

    • Pausing all payments is “an incredibly blunt instrument” that harms legitimate care providers and vulnerable patients.

  • Ho:
    “The state is going to unfortunately have to make some very difficult choices about reducing the number of patients who are eligible for home care. So in many cases it's going to lead to frail, vulnerable patients declining in care because they don't receive what they need.” (04:09)

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3. NIH Unlocks the World’s Largest Health Data Set

(06:13–09:14)

• All of Us Research Program's Database Launch:
  The National Institutes of Health unveiled a new integrated health record resource, combining genomics, electronic medical records, data from wearables, and environmental exposure information for 747,000+ Americans.

• Potential for Transformative Insights:

  • Dr. Heidi Rehm, Chief Genomics Officer, Massachusetts General Hospital:
    “By incorporating many different factors... we can get a much more accurate and better picture of how these factors interrelate and then give more accurate prediction to individuals about their healthcare risks and how we should best care for them.” (06:53)

• Funding Crisis Threatens Longevity:

  • The program has seen its budget cut by 72% since 2023.
  • Dr. Rehm: “If funding were to completely cease, it is likely that this data set would no longer be accessible to researchers… That would be awful.” (07:57)

• Direct Impacts on Health Care:

  • Thousands of research publications and real-world adoption (e.g., personalized risk scores for heart disease and cancer) have already emerged.
  • Dr. Rehm: “It's already impacting healthcare... information... is already being used in the practice of medicine today.” (08:30)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Tariff Justification:
  “This really looks like an excuse to try to resurrect the original tariffs under some other guise.”
  — Laura Veldkamp (02:16)

• On the Harm of Medicaid Payment Pauses:
  “You are also leading to a large amount of harm for those providers who are actually providing care honestly to people who really need the help.”
  — Vivian Ho (03:42)

• On Cutting Health Data Set Funding:
  “If funding were to completely cease, it is likely that this data set would no longer be accessible to researchers... That would be awful.”
  — Dr. Heidi Rehm (07:57)

• On the Promise of Health Data Integration:
  “All of those sorts of information will be improved by having such a rich, interconnected data set.”
  — Dr. Heidi Rehm (07:34)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Tariffs on Generics and Major Trading Partners: 01:00–03:19
• Medicaid Payment Pauses & Fallout: 03:19–04:27
• NIH’s World-Leading Health Dataset Release and Funding Crisis: 06:13–09:14

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Summary

Today's Marketplace Morning Report breaks down the Trump administration's assertive return to tariffs, legislative maneuvering after a Supreme Court setback, and the waves of uncertainty now cresting over U.S. businesses and global trading partners. Listeners gain expert perspectives on how blunt-force Medicaid fraud prevention could upend care for the vulnerable, and see groundbreaking advances—and potential losses—in health research data. With succinct insights and pointed commentary, the episode spotlights the real-world impacts of policy choices dominating today’s headlines.

Transcript

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[Kimberly Adams]

the Trump Administration Is Digging Back in on Tariffs From Marketplace in Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams. President Trump said on Truth Social last night that he's planning a 100% tariff on generic drugs coming into the US starting in 2028, which would jump to 200% a year after this threat coming as the Trump administration prepares to announce another round of tariffs on dozens of countries that would replace existing import duties expir this Friday, Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has more.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

The new tariffs will replace temporary 10% levies, which were put in place after the Supreme Court said President Trump couldn't instantly impose import duties by declaring a national emergency. Speaking on CNBC, U.S. trade Representative Jamison Greer said this new tariff process will be very broad.

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

Well, it covers 60 countries, 6, 0 and about 99% of our trade.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

The new tariff will range from 10 to 12 and a half percent. The Trump administration is using a different section of trade law to justify the new import taxes, accusing US Trading partners of importing goods allegedly made with forced labor. Laura Veldkamp, an economist at Columbia Business School, says President Trump is clearly trying to rebuild the tariff wall torn down by the Supreme Court. This really looks like an excuse to try to resurrect the original tariffs under under some other guys belt Kemp also says these new tariffs will add to uncertainty for U.S. businesses because they'll probably be challenged in court. That could be a long process leaving US Companies in limbo. Wendy Cutler is a former US Trade official who's now senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She says importers from other countries may feel that a decision on a certain country was unfair and, you know, may decide that they want to challenge a specific finding with respect to a specific country. In the meantime, the Trump administration is conducting another trade investigation into countries it accuses of overproducing, driving down the price of some products and putting the US At a disadvantage. Cutler doesn't think those tariffs will be imposed until after the midterm elections. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Kimberly Adams]

Yesterday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would pause over $1 billion in federal MED payments to California and Minnesota. According to hhs. This is part of a broader effort to weed out waste, fraud and abuse within Medicaid. Health economist Vivian Ho says there is a small share of providers that are submitting fraudulent claims, but it's a small

[Marie Mej Reis]

portion of the entire amount of care being delivered. So the problem with pausing all of the payments is it's an incredibly blunt instrument and you are also leading to a large amount of harm for those providers who are actually providing care honestly to people who really need the help.

[Kimberly Adams]

So these funding cuts won't just affect those trying to abuse the system.

[Marie Mej Reis]

The state is going to unfortunately have to make some very difficult choices about reducing the number of patients who are eligible for home care. So in many cases it's going to lead to frail, vulnerable patients declining in care because they don't receive what they need.

[Kimberly Adams]

That was Vivian Ho, a health economist at Rice University.

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[Kimberly Adams]

The National Institutes of Health's all of Us Research Program recently released what it says is the world's largest integrated health data set, bringing together genetic information and health records for more than 747,000 people from across the U.S. here to discuss this release is Dr. Heidi Rehm, Chief Genomics Officer at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ream, welcome to.

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

[Kimberly Adams]

One of the interesting things about this database is that it combines genomes with medical records. Information from wearable devices, environmental exposure, air quality. What is the value of putting all those pieces together?

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

What we're learning is that there are many factors in our health that interrelate, whether it's your likelihood of a heart attack or your likelihood of getting cancer. If you just study these things one at a time, you don't get the full picture. But by incorporating many different factors, both the data that we generated, the health history, the environmental exposures, all of this information simultaneously, we can get a much more accurate and better picture of how these factors interrelate and then give more accurate prediction to individuals about their healthcare risks and how we should best care for them. What treatments will be most effective. All of those sorts of information will be improved by having such a rich, interconnected data set.

[Kimberly Adams]

Funding for this program has really taken a massive hit over the years. 72% of the budget has been cut since 2023. What happens if the funding runs out?

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

If funding were to completely cease, it is likely that this data set would no longer be accessible to researchers because of that even baseline amount of funding that's needed to sustain it in its current state. So that would be awful. The investment that has been made would end beyond what's already been learned from the data set, which is extensive.

[Kimberly Adams]

With these extensive learnings from the data set as is, how do you think it's going to impact the future of health care?

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

It's already impacting healthcare in the sense that information that we've learned from this data set and there have been thousands of publications that have already occurred from the data set, and that information is already being used in the practice of medicine today. It's informing polygenic risk scores that are being given back to patients that relate to their cardiovascular risk or their prostate cancer risk. These are ongoing applications of the data already, and we will continue to see more and more examples of that over time.

[Kimberly Adams]

Dr. Heidi Rehm is Chief Genomics Officer at Massachusetts General Hospital and an institute member at the Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard. Thank you so much.

[Dr. Heidi Rehm]

Thank you. It was a pleasure.

[Kimberly Adams]

In Washington, I'm Kimberly Adams with the Marketplace Morning Report from apm, American Public Media.

[Marie Mej Reis]

Have you ever daydreamed about leaving your office job and starting life off the grid? I'm Marie Mej Reis, host of this Is Uncomfortable. And this week on the show, I talk with one woman whose homesteading dream became a reality and then a nightmare.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

You're one disaster away from losing everything. And for us, that disaster happened really early on, and we could never get on top of it. It was just this continuous cycle of poverty.

[Marie Mej Reis]

Be sure to listen to this Is Uncomfortable on your favorite podcast.