EU considers itself exempt from US tariff hike on pharmaceuticals
Washington/Brussels (dpa) – The European Commission expects pharmaceutical exports from the European Union to be exempt from the 100 percent tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, a spokesman in Brussels said on Friday.
Trump announced on Thursday that, from October 1, the United States would impose a 100 percent tariff on all trademark-protected or patented pharmaceuticals unless a company built its manufacturing facilities in the United States.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump defined the construction of a pharmaceutical plant as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.”
The tariffs are expected to hit countries such as India, a major supplier of pharmaceuticals to the US.
German pharmaceutical firms are also concerned, as the US is their most important export market, accounting for nearly a quarter of German pharma exports.
The spokesman in Brussels said the joint EU-US statement on trade agreed in August clearly stated that a 15 percent tariff cap applied to EU exports in the pharmaceuticals sector. This gave assurance that no higher duties would arise for European economic operators, he added. (26 September)
