NEW YORK: US and British officials on Monday unveiled an agreement under which Washington will exempt British pharmaceuticals from hefty tariffs while the UK lifts pharma pricing by 25 percent.
The accord announced by officials from the Trump and Starmer administrations aims to “address long-standing imbalances in US-UK pharmaceutical trade,” ending what US trade ambassador Jamieson Greer called an arrangement where “American patients have been forced to subsidize prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries.”
Under the accord, Britain’s National Health Service will increase its prices for new medicines by 25 percent.
This cannot be offset by increases in other British subsidies to drugmakers, according to a White House press release.
The agreement means Britain will be exempted from hefty US tariffs imposed on pharma imports that went into effect October 1.
The lofty price of medications has been a major political issue in the United States for years.
A Rand Corporation study showed Americans pay 2.5 times as much for pharmaceuticals as in France.
Trump had announced tariffs of 100 percent on imported pharmaceuticals.
But the White House has announced agreements delaying the tariffs for three years with Pfizer and AstraZeneca after they agreed to invest in US manufacturing capacity.
British Science and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall said the deal will “ensure UK patients get the cutting-edge medicines they need sooner,” while also enabling “life sciences companies to continue to invest and innovate right here in the UK. ”
