How Trump’s EU tariffs could affect drug prices: What it means for Ozempic, Botox, brandname prescriptions

Trump’s trade deal with the E.U. may lead to higher prices for brand-name drugs in the U.S., including the blockbuster medications Ozempic and Wegovy, experts say.

President Donald Trump’s trade deal with the European Union may lead to higher prices for brand-name drugs in the United States, including blockbuster medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, experts say.

The trade deal, announced Sunday, places a 15% tariff on most imported goods from the E.U., including pharmaceuticals. While that comes in well below the 200% tariffs Trump had threatened on pharmaceutical imports earlier this month, it’ll still have an impact.

Pharmaceuticals are the United States’ fifth largest import, said Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Europe is a major manufacturing hub for brand-name drugs in particular. Nearly half of the active ingredients for brand-name drugs taken in the United States are produced in European countries such as Ireland, Germany, Italy and Belgium, Kesselheim said. Europe is also where many drugmakers do final steps, such as filling and packaging.

Novo Nordisk’s diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy are both produced in Denmark. Botox, made by Allergen, and the cancer drug Keytruda from drugmaker Merck are made in Ireland. (In recent years, however, more of Keytruda’s manufacturing has shifted to the United States.)