March 11 (Reuters) - Merck ( MRK ) said on Tuesday it

has opened a $1-billion facility at its North Carolina site, the

latest drugmaker to boost its U.S. manufacturing amid President

Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Trump has been piling pressure on drugmakers since taking

office to move medicine production to the U.S., and has

threatened to impose 25% tariff on pharmaceutical imports.

In February, Trump met with the CEOs of major drugmakers to

discuss industry concerns such as tariffs on drug imports.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) has since announced plans to invest at

least $27 billion to build four new manufacturing plants in the

U.S.

Pfizer ( PFE ) has also said it might move overseas

manufacturing to its existing plants in the U.S.

Merck ( MRK ) expects to invest $8 billion in the U.S. by 2028. It

has already spent more than $12 billion since 2018 to expand

domestic manufacturing, research and development capabilities,

and create new jobs in the U.S.

The company's manufacturing footprint is slightly heavier

outside of the U.S., Chief Financial Officer Caroline Litchfield

said in a conference earlier this month.

"As we all try to understand what tariffs may come, our

company is focused on the investments that we're making in this

country to support our pipeline," Litchfield said.

Merck ( MRK ) has facilities in countries such as Ireland and

Singapore, according to the company's website.

Other sectors with large production facilities outside the

U.S. have also implemented counter measures such as potential

price hikes, changes in sourcing locations and new domestic

plants to brace for potential tariffs.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)