Global pharma shares plunge as Trump doubles down on tariff threat
Global drugmakers’ stocks dropped across the board on Wednesday after U.S.
Global drugmakers’ stocks dropped across the board on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated plans for a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports, threatening an interwoven supply chain across the world, and as his country-specific reciprocal tariffs took effect, leading to more pain in global markets.
Pharmaceutical imports were initially exempt from Trump’s first set of reciprocal tariffs last week but his administration has since indicated that levies on the sector, which in the past has been excluded from such actions, are coming.
The U.S. president has said the tariffs will incentivize drug companies to move operations to the U.S. However, analysts and companies have raised concerns about the difficulty in setting up manufacturing in the United States.
Shares of major U.S. drugmakers such as Gilead Sciences, Pfizer, Merck and Eli Lilly fell between 2% and 4% in premarket trading.
In Europe, a basket of healthcare stocks .SXDP fell 5% to its lowest since October 2022, leading losses among sectoral indexes on the region-wide STOXX 600. The index was heading for its biggest one-day drop since March 2020.
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