Exclusive: Trump tariff threats prompt some drugmakers to expedite shipments to US
Source: Reuters
March 27, 2025 2:44 PM EDT Updated 2 hours ago
NEW YORK/LONDON/LOS ANGELES, March 27 (Reuters) - Some drugmakers are taking the unusual step of sending more medicines by air to the U.S., two executives and two logistics firms said amid fears President Donald Trump's April 2 tariffs announcement could include products made in Europe.
Two European-headquartered drugmakers told Reuters this week they are sending as much of their medicines across the Atlantic as possible over the past several weeks and heard other pharmaceuticals companies were doing the same. One of the executives said his company was "scenario planning" for possible tariffs and shipping more medicines by air using global cargo and transport firms including the United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and Germany's DHL (DHLn.DE). He declined to give more specific details.
A source at a third international drugmaker said they were quickly moving in available stock from overseas in an effort to get ahead of tariffs, but didn't specify the shipping method. DHL said it had seen a rise in pharmaceutical exports by air from Europe, but did not give a reason for the increase. UPS declined to comment. FedEx (FDX.N) did not directly address the issue.
Pharmaceutical products have long been spared from trade wars due to the potential harms. But Trump's move to increase tariffs on goods from China, including finished drugs and raw ingredients, as well as an early round of tariffs between the U.S. and EU on goods like steel and bourbon, has raised expectations that medicines will join the list. The U.S. depends on medicines partly produced in Europe that bring in hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-tariff-threats-prompt-some-drugmakers-expedite-shipments-us-2025-03-27/
They don't care about "harms". They just want that $$$ to extend the tax cuts for billionaires.
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