European pharmaceutical companies have warned EU chiefs that Donald Trump‘s tariffs could cause an ‘exodus’ from Europe and toward the United States.
The European Commission president was warned about the potential shift at a meeting on Tuesday.
Pharma trade lobby European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) said it had called on EU President Ursula von der Leyen to push for ‘rapid and radical action’ to mitigate the ‘risk of exodus’ to the United States.
Pharmaceuticals were exempt from sweeping tariffs on US imports announced by US President Donald Trump last week, but he has warned they will face separate tariffs.
The EFPIA, whose members include European pharma giants Bayer, Novartis and Novo Nordisk, said the EU needs to change its regulatory framework for the industry to make it more conducive to innovation and strengthen Europe’s intellectual property provisions.
The EFPIA has repeatedly warned that Europe’s pharma sector will lose out to increased competition from the US, China and emerging markets if the EU does not amend a proposed revamp of laws governing the sector.
‘Now with the uncertainty created by the threat of tariffs, there is little incentive to invest in the EU and significant drivers to relocate to the US,’ the EFPIA statement read.
The CEOs of EU-headquartered pharma companies as well as biotech lobby Europabio and generics trade group Medicines for Europe were invited to the meeting.
President Donald Trump has warned that pharmaceutical companies could soon face separate tariffs
The EFPIA has called on EU President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) to push for ‘rapid and radical action’ to mitigate the ‘risk of exodus’ to the United States
EU chiefs have been warned that they risk an exodus of companies to the United States
Pharmaceutical companies are currently exempt from tariffs, but have been warned to prepare for them in the coming months
However it is understood that Europe’s largest generics maker, Sandoz, was not.
Europe and the US have interconnected supply chains for medicines. The US depends on medicines partly produced in Europe that bring in hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.
EU medical and pharmaceutical product exports to the United States totalled about 90 billion euros ($97.05 billion) in 2023, according to latest Eurostat data.
European pharma giants have recently been expanding production facilities in the United States.
The United States is the biggest pharma market by sales for big pharma companies, including both US and European headquartered ones.
Sales in North America accounted for nearly 50 per cent of world pharmaceutical sales in 2021, compared with nearly 25 per cent for Europe, according to EFPIA.
The European Commission on Monday proposed counter-tariffs of 25 per cent on a range of US goods, including soybeans, nuts and motorcycles.
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Europe’s pharmaceutical giants warn EU chiefs of ‘exodus’ to the US over Trump tariffs