With the European Union struggling to formulate a coherent response to President Donald Trump’s Liberal Day tariffs, Europe’s top pharma lobby has warned of a “mass exodus” of drug research and manufacturing to the United States.
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), the leading lobby representing Europe’s pharma industry, told EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that “Trump’s tariffs would accelerate the industry’s shift away from Europe and toward the US,” the Belgian news website Eurativ reported Wednesday.
European news reports suggest panic is setting in among EU bureaucrats as President Trump’s tariffs—a 20 percent tariff on EU goods across the board (in addition to 25 percent on steel and aluminium imports)—come into effect on Wednesday.
The Eurativ reported the European pharma industry’s fears:
Pharma industry CEOs met with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday with a “stark warning” on how to prepare the EU sector for a possible coming wave of US tariffs on pharmaceutical products.In the meeting, industry players such as pharma trade group EFPIA told the Commission president that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs would accelerate the industry’s shift away from Europe and toward the US.“Unless Europe delivers rapid, radical policy change then pharmaceutical research, development and manufacturing is increasingly likely to be directed towards the US,” said EFPIA in a press release, adding that there could be a “mass exodus”.
Despite tough talk, the EU commissars are yet to formulate a unified response. “As US tariffs on EU exports escalate, Europe scrambles for a unified response,” Germany’s state-run the DW TV reported. “Since Trump’s bold announcement in the White House Rose Garden last Wednesday, the EU has been grappling with how to respond effectively.”
Noting the fallout from President Trump’s decision, the German state TV channel wrote Tuesday that the “new tariffs will impact around 70% of all EU exports to the US, valued at €532 billion ($585 billion) in 2024. Trump has defended the measures, pointing to Europe’s substantial trade surplus with the US, which reached $235.6 billion (€215.5 billion) in 2024, according to US government figures.”
The 27-member European bloc is considering a sweeping 25 percent tariff on U.S. goods, a move dubbed by the media as the EU ‘trade bazooka.’
“The European Union is negotiating with a trade bazooka in its hand, but can’t agree on whether to pull the trigger just yet,” Politico reported Monday. “According to an internal document seen by POLITICO, the Commission is considering slapping tariffs of up to 25 percent on a broad range of exports from the U.S. in response to Trump’s levies on steel and aluminum.”
Brussels, however, hopes that the short-term market turmoil could force President Trump to reconsider his Liberation Day tariffs. “When it comes to sticks, the EU wants to create the impression of negotiating from a position of strength (while hoping that the financial market turmoil unleashed by Trump’s tariff broadside will sap his fighting spirit),” the U.S. news website added.
The EU has already announced the first round of ‘retaliatory’ tariffs. “On Monday evening, the Commission proposed its first retaliatory tariffs at 25% on a range of U.S. imports in response to Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs rather than the broader levies, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the EU was set to “produce a larger package of countermeasures by the end of April, as a response to U.S. car and broader tariffs.”
Brussels had to scale down its response after France and Italy feared a massive U.S. response aimed at their lucrative wine and alcohol exports. “However, the list was shortened after the EU executive bowed to pressure from member states and removed bourbon, wine and dairy after Trump threatened a 200% counter-tariff on EU alcoholic drinks,” the news agency added Monday. “France and Italy, major exporters of wine and spirits, were particularly concerned.”
So far, President Trump has refused to rollback tariffs on EU goods. “President Donald Trump rejected a European Union proposal to drop tariffs on all bilateral trade in industrial goods with the US, meaning that his 20% tariff on all EU imports is due to come into force Wednesday,” the Bloomberg reported Tuesday.
“Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump said the offer from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is not enough to reset the transatlantic trading relationship, accusing the EU of maintaining other barriers to trade,” the broadcaster added.
President Trump believes that tough measures, such as the retaliatory tariffs, are the only way to force Europeans and other trade partners to level the playing field for U.S. companies. “If I didn’t do what I did over the last couple of weeks, you wouldn’t have anyone who wants to negotiate,” the president said Monday. “Now they’re coming to us.”
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