Trump’s 15% tariff on medicines will harm patients, say EU drugmakers

The Danish pharmaceutical Novo Nordisk, which makes the type 2 diabetes treatment Wegovy, is part of the EFPIA, which says the tariffs are counterproductive. Photograph: James Manning/PA

The European pharmaceutical industry has condemned the US move to put 15% tariffs on medicines imported from the EU, calling the taxes a “blunt instrument” that would harm patients on both sides of the Atlantic.

They were responding to a White House text of the deal that inferred the 15% baseline rate on imports from the EU would also apply to drugs if the agreement is implemented on the US side on Friday as expected.