New Jersey

New Jersey is America's pharmaceutical heartland, and tariffs threaten an industry that defines the state's economy. Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick), Merck (Rahway), Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novo Nordisk, and dozens more pharma giants maintain New Jersey headquarters and manufacturing. These companies export finished drugs worldwide — now facing retaliatory tariffs — while importing active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from China and India at higher costs. Nearly 80% of APIs used in US drug manufacturing come from overseas, and tariffs on these inputs raise costs across the entire pharmaceutical supply chain. New Jersey's Port Newark-Elizabeth, part of the Port of NY/NJ complex, is the largest East Coast container port; tariffs on everything flowing through its terminals raise prices for 80 million consumers in the region. The state's chemical industry along the New Jersey Turnpike corridor (BASF, Dow) faces tariffs on imported feedstocks. New Jersey's cranberry bogs (third-largest producer in the US) face retaliatory tariffs in Asian markets. The state's high cost of living amplifies the $1,980 per-household tariff burden considerably.