US Tariffs Hit Unlikely Target—Monkeys Used In Covid Research

President Donald Trump’s new tariffs will likely make imports of long-tailed macaques that US pharmaceutical companies use for trials 40% more expensive.

Mauritius supplied 60% of the primates needed by American pharmaceutical research in 2023 and shipped 13,484 monkeys last year, according to the Indian Ocean island nation. Mauritius’ tariff rate, one of the highest in Africa, may also hurt sugar and textile sales, the country’s two other main exports.

The Mauritian monkeys played a pivotal role in developing Covid-19 vaccines, “saving countless lives globally,” according to the country’s Cyno Breeders’ Association.

Revenue from the sales last year totaled $86.6 million compared with $20 million a decade earlier, with prices surging to an average to $6,425 per monkey from $2,236 in 2014, Agro-Industry Minister Arvin Boolell told lawmakers in March.

Mauritius earns $200 from each monkey export and uses the proceeds for conservation initiatives, the minister said before the US tariff announcement.

“The amount is relatively low and I shall be reviewing this amount,” he said.

From a biodiversity perspective, Mauritius sees long-tailed macaques as an invasive species that also pose a danger to farms and citizens, according to the minister.