Pharmaceutical stocks sank in premarket trading on Wednesday in the wake of President Donald Trump'slatest comments on tariffs for the sector. GSK and Novartis fell 4%; AstraZeneca, Sanofi, and Gilead Sciences fell 3%; Amgen, Pfizer, and Merck fell 2%; Eli Lilly, Biogen, Novo Nordisk, and Moderna fell 1%.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will soon impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals coming from foreign countries, predicting drug companies will move their operations to the U.S..

"We're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals . . . when they hear that they will leave China, they will leave other places because . . . most of their product is sold here," Trump said during a National Republican Congressional Committee dinner.

Trump exempted pharmaceuticals from the big round of reciprocal tariffs he announced last week, but has been suggesting for months that the drug industry will be targeted.

In one exchange with reporters in February, the president said tariffs on imported drugs would likely start around 25% and could climb higher.

A tariff on drug imports will increase consumer prices, analysts and academics have warned.