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European pharma companies

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Pharma goods spared from latest tariffs, industry expects

future

duties

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Europe, U.S. have interconnected supply chains for

medicines

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Reuters Tariffs Live Page

(Updates throughout after the meeting)

By Ludwig Burger and Maggie Fick

FRANKFURT/LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) - European pharma

companies warned the European Commission president at a meeting

on Tuesday that U.S. tariffs would expedite the industry's shift

away from Europe and toward the United States.

Pharma trade lobby EFPIA, whose members include European

pharma giants Bayer, Novartis and Novo

Nordisk, 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 U.S.

imports announced by U.S. President Donald Trump last week but

he has said they will face separate tariffs.

EFPIA 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 demands were not new. EFPIA has repeatedly warned

that Europe's pharma sector will lose out to increased

competition from the U.S., China and emerging markets if the EU

does not amend a proposed revamp of laws governing the sector.

"Now with the addition of tariffs, there is little incentive

to invest in the EU and significant drivers to relocate to the

U.S.," the EFPIA statement read.

The Commission did not immediately reply to a request

for comment.

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, but Europe's largest

generics maker, Sandoz, told Reuters it was not.

Europe and the U.S. have interconnected supply chains for

medicines. The U.S. 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, both U.S. and European headquartered

ones. Sales in North America accounted for nearly 50% of world

pharmaceutical sales in 2021, compared with nearly 25% for

Europe, according to EFPIA.

The European Commission on Monday proposed

counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods, including

soybeans, nuts and motorcycles.