ZURICH, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Novartis has

increased its stockpiles of pharmaceuticals in the United States

and is well prepared should its products be hit by President

Donald Trump's tariffs, its chief executive said in an interview

published on Saturday.

Pharmaceuticals are currently exempt from the 39% tariffs

Washington imposed on Switzerland last month, although the

industry is awaiting the outcome of a investigation which could

lead to sectoral import duties.

The U.S. also reached a bilateral trade deal with the

European Union in July, which includes a 15% tariff on

pharmaceuticals, except for some generic drugs.

"We have significantly increased our stockpiles in the U.S.,

so they will certainly last until mid-2026," CEO Vas Narasimhan

told Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung.

Novartis has already announced $23 billion in medium-term

investments in the U.S. and aims to manufacture its most

important products for the American market locally, he added.

"It will likely take three to four years to get there. But

I estimate that we can make significant shifts within the next

two years, for example, to carry out some of the final filling

and packaging in the U.S.," he said.

"This should allow us to fully mitigate any tariffs."

Narasimhan said it was "difficult to estimate" whether

potential tariffs of up to 250%, following Washington's Section

232 investigation into the pharma industry, were realistic.

"We're working on all possible scenarios, and hope the

government realises that expanding production in the U.S. will

take time," he said.

"But we won't have more clarity until the so-called Section

232 investigation is completed," he said. "We don't know when

the results will be available."