Trump’s pharma tariffs would hurt Americans the most
A 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals would help Big Pharma make bigger profits, but it’d be a disaster for Americans’ health.
Dr Ruth Mitchell, neurosurgeon and Nobel Peace Prize winner with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, joins Dr Emma Shortis to discuss why a growing number of Australians want an AUKUS review, Trump’s pharmaceuticals tariffs, and what the US President can learn from Jane Fonda.
This discussion was recorded on Friday 11 July 2025.
You can sign our petition calling on the Australian Government to launch a parliamentary inquiry into AUKUS.
Dead Centre: How political pragmatism is killing us by Richard Denniss is available for pre-order now via the Australia Institute website.
Guest: Ruth Mitchell, Board Chair, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War // @drruthmitchell
Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis
Show notes:
Polling – AUKUS, the Australia Institute (July 2025)
Medicine price comparison between Australia and the United States by Matt Grudnoff, the Australia Institute (April 2025)
Moral Ambition: Stop wasting your talent and start making a difference by Rutger Bregman (April 2025)
Photo: The White House/Flickr (U.S. Government work)
Theme music: Blue Dot Sessions
We’d love to hear your feedback on this series, so send in your questions, comments or suggestions for future episodes to podcasts@australiainstitute.org.au.
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
Can Albanese claim ‘success’ with Trump? Beyond the banter, the vague commitments should be viewed with scepticism
By all the usual diplomatic measures, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting with US President Donald Trump was a great success. “Success” in a meeting with Trump is to avoid the ritual humiliation the president sometimes likes to inflict on his interlocutors. In that sense, Albanese and his team pulled off an impressive diplomatic feat. While there was one awkward
In Trump we trust? | Between the Lines
The Wrap with Bill Browne Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returns from a meeting with the mercurial US President Donald Trump, a great diplomatic success by the usual measures. Trump said without hedging that Australia would get nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact and inked a critical minerals deal to “unlock” private investment. The media lapped
Albanese visits Trump as US democracy circles a golden drain
Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Donald Trump was relatively drama-free, but the devil is in the detail when it comes to the president’s ‘commitments’ on AUKUS and critical minerals.