The UK government announced it is holding talks with Washington against the new 100% drug tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump. Trump had announced that heavy tariffs would be applied to companies that do not establish manufacturing facilities in the US starting October 1.
A UK government spokesperson said, “The pharmaceutical sector is critical to our economy. We are maintaining close contact with the US and are pressing for results that will provide real benefits to our industry.”
The two countries had previously agreed on preferential trade in pharmaceuticals. However, the implementation has only been partially realized.
Following pressure from Trump, some major pharmaceutical companies halted their investments in the UK. Despite this, giant companies like AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have production facilities in the US and have announced new investments.