BERLIN, July 17 (Reuters) - Novartis has

adequate inventory in the United States for this year, and any

new tariffs would not affect the Swiss pharmaceutical company's

guidance, CEO Vas Narasimhan told journalists on Thursday.

"Medium term, we're putting in place the various elements of

a plan to ensure that we can mitigate any impact," added

Narasimhan following the release of second-quarter results.