European Pharma Giants Threaten ‘Exodus’ to the U.S.
Part of the Pfizer, Grange Castle complex in West Dublin, Ireland. Photo: iStock/noel bennett
EU pharmaceutical firms have called on the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, to push for “rapid and radical action” to mitigate the “risk of exodus” to the U.S., after a meeting with her in Brussels, reports The Guardian.
President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs came into effect at 12:01am April 9, including a 20% levy on goods from the EU’s 27 member states and 27% on India, which is also a major exporter of pharmaceuticals to the U.S. These followed 10% tariffs on imports from all countries, which came into effect April 5. The plea from big pharma came as the trade war between the U.S. and the rest of the world reached a new level of belligerence, with China announcing April 9 it would retaliate to Trump's last-minute raise of the tariff on China to 104% with a reciprocal tariff on U.S. imports of 84%.
Read More: U.S. to Raise Tariffs Against China to 104%
Pharmaceuticals have so far been exempted from the levies, but on April 8, Trump told an event at the National Republican Congressional Committee that he would announce a large tariff on drugs imports “very shortly.”
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), an industry trade lobby whose members including Bayer, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk, met Von der Leyen on April 8 hours before Trump issued his fresh threat.
Nine out of ten of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies are established in Ireland, persuaded to move there by a favorable tax environment and access to a well-educated, English-speaking workforce.
The EFPIA presented Von der Leyen with a five-point plan, including proposals to strengthen incentives to locate intellectual property in Europe, and adopting a set of rules to make it more attractive to invest in Europe.
“The U.S. now leads Europe on every investor metric from availability of capital, intellectual property, speed of approval to rewards for innovation,” the EFPIA said. “Now with the addition of tariffs, there is little incentive to invest in the EU and significant drivers to relocate to the U.S.”
