US President Donald Trump has announced a raft of new tariffs targeting multiple sectors, including a dramatic 100-percent duty on “any branded or patented” pharmaceutical product imported into the United States. The only exemption applies to companies that are actively building a manufacturing plant within the US.
The announcement, made on Thursday, immediately drew a stern warning from a leading European industry body, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).
Nathalie Moll, Director General of the EFPIA, issued a statement to AFP on Friday, cautioning that tariffs on medicines, “however excessive, would create the worst of all worlds.”
“Tariffs increase costs, disrupt supply chains and prevent patients from getting life saving treatments,” Moll stated, underscoring the severe consequences for patients on both sides of the Atlantic.
Conflict with Previous Trade Deal
Trump’s sweeping new duty appears to contradict a recent understanding between the two major trading blocs. In July, the European Union and the United States had reached a trade deal that reportedly capped tariffs on pharmaceutical products and other goods at 15 percent.
It was not immediately clear if the new 100-percent tariff nullified or superseded that previous trade understanding.
Moll highlighted the existence of the prior trade agreement and urged continued discussion: “They should now continue discussions on how the EU can improve its support towards the cost of global research and development in a way which doesn’t harm patients in the EU and the US.”
The 100% tariff is the latest step in a policy aimed at compelling global pharmaceutical companies to relocate manufacturing to the United States. This move follows previous threats from the administration to impose duties as high as 250% on imported drugs.