President Donald Trump has announced on social media that the USA will introduce import duties on patented medicines of 100 percent from October 1. Exceptions apply to companies that are willing to move their operations to the USA.
Included in the tariff ceiling
But according to Minister for Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa, medicines are included in the ceiling of 15 percent tariffs that the EU and the USA have agreed on.
Should the USA from their side break this agreement, we are of course ready to act from Europe's side. We have a paused package of countermeasures that is ready to be used and can be activated quickly, he says and adds that there are additional countermeasures that could be introduced.
He emphasizes, however, that it is not certain that Trump's move is aimed at Europe.
I interpret this as something that was not specifically aimed at Europe but the entire surrounding world. The USA is free to set any tariff rates they want as long as it does not affect Europe.
Hard blow to Sweden
Should the duties still be introduced, it would be devastating for the Swedish life science sector, according to Dousa.
It would of course be a very hard blow to Europe where Sweden is one of the countries that would be most negatively affected by this because we have such a large export of medicines to the USA.
The risk with the duties is also that pharmaceutical companies cancel investments in Europe and move production and research and development to the USA. But we are far from that, according to Dousa. Moreover, 100 percent duties would mean a hard blow to patients in the USA.
Healthcare treatments in the USA would become much more expensive and patients' wallets would quickly empty because of this, he says.
