TMTPOST -- The European Union and Japan will be spared from an upcoming 100% pharmaceutical tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, according to the reported White House official.
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Trump’s new tariffs on pharmaceutical imports will not apply to countries with negotiated agreements with the U.S. that contain provisions on drugs, Bloomberg reported, citing a White House official. Duties on pharmaceuticals from the EU will be capped at 15% under the terms of its framework deal with the U.S., according to the official.
U.S. drug imports from Japan will not face new tariffs exceeding 15%, per the report. It pointed out the U.S.-Japan joint statement says Amercian tariffs on Japanese drugs and semiconductors should not be charged at the rate higher than those applied to other trading parnters, including the EU.
However, Britain’s pharmaceutical exports to the U.S. will be reportedly subject to the new tariffs since the negotiation between Washington and London have not led to an agreement on provisions for similar exemptions from phamaceutical tariffs like the EU and Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday previewed a new wave of sectoral tariffs up to 100% coming next month. In a slew of posts on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump announced he will impose a 100% tariff on all branded or patented pharmaceutical products, a 50% Tariff on all Kitchen Cabinets, Bathroom Vanities, and associated products, a 30% Tariff on Upholstered Furniture, and a 25% tariff on all heavy trucks. All of these levies will come into effect on October 1.
Trump said companies “building” their pharmaceutical manufacturing plants in America would be exempted from such levies. He clarified that the “building” means the plant is “breaking ground” and/or “under construction”. “There will, therefore, be no Tariff on these Pharmaceutical Products if construction has started,” the president wrote in his post.
The new drug tariffs could impact major producers of branded pharmaceuticals - including the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Japan. In 2024, U.S. imports of pharmaceuticals nearly tripled to around $213 billion from a decade earlier, according to data from the United Nations Comtrade Database.
Both the EU and Japan expressed confidence that the 100% U.S. drug tariffs will not be applied to their exports.
The European Commission referred to a joint statement with the U.S. following its end-July trade deal, which states that the tariff for pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and lumber would not exceed 15%.
"This clear all-inclusive 15% tariff ceiling for EU exports represents an insurance policy that no higher tariffs will emerge for European economic operators," Reuters quoted a Commission spokesperson on Friday. Noting Washington had followed through a 15% car tariff under the trade agreement, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said he expected the commitment to be expected.
Japan also referred to its joint statement with Washington, which said that U.S. tariff rates on Japanese semiconductors and pharmaceuticals would not exceed those applied to others such as the EU.
Swiss pharma companies Roche and Novartis on Friday said that they did not expect to be hit by pharmaceutical tariffs because they are in the process of building new U.S. sites and investing there.
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