Donald Trump’s tariffs have created “another layer of challenge” in procuring medicines for the NHS, the Health Secretary has warned. “Until this trade war erupted, we’d already had issues with medicines production and supply internationally,” Mr Streeting told Sky News.

“We are constantly watching and acting on this situation to try and get medicines into the country, to make sure we’ve got availability, to show some flexibility in terms of how medicines are dispensed, to deal with shortages”, he said. But whether it’s medicines, whether it’s parts for manufacturing, whether it’s… the ability of businesses in this country to turn a profit, this is an extremely turbulent situation”, the Ilford MP added.

Mr Streeting was speaking to broadcasters during the morning round of interviews, as stock markets continued to react to President Trump’s global tariffs. The President slapped what he called “reciprocal tariffs” on most other nations around the world, raising the prospect of a global trade war.

A large proportion of the medicines used in the NHS are imported from abroad or use ingredients made overseas. Around 70% of all base ingredients for drugs are manufactured in China. Those ingredients are then blended and packaged into medicines. India is the UK’s biggest supplier – but medicines are made in Europe and around 20% to 25% are made in the UK, according to the British Generic Manufacturers’ Association (BGMA).

“As ever in terms of medicines, there’s a number of factors at play”, Mr Streeting said. “There have been challenges in terms of manufacturing, challenges in terms of distribution, and if we start to see tariffs kicking in, that’s another layer of challenge, but we watch this situation extremely closely.

“We work on a daily basis to make sure that we have the medicine supply this country needs.”