It was made absolutely clear that any new US tariffs on EU pharmaceutical exports would be capped at 15 per cent, the Tánaiste has said, following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new 100 per cent tax on those goods.
The move, part of a suite of measures set to take effect on October 1st, casts uncertainty over a previous framework agreement between the EU and the US. President Trump stated on the Truth Social website that tariffs on brand-name and patented pharmaceuticals would not apply to companies building manufacturing plants in the United States, defined as either breaking ground or being under construction.
Tánaiste Simon Harris emphasized:
“I want to stress that the EU and US Joint Statement issued on 21 August last made absolutely clear that any new tariffs announced by the US on pharmaceuticals under its Section 232 investigation would be capped at 15% for pharma products being exported by the EU.”
On August 21st, the EU and the US issued a joint statement outlining that the American administration would apply a 15% tariff rate to pharmaceutical imports originating from the bloc. They also confirmed that the US would not impose tariffs exceeding 15 per cent on pharmaceuticals after conducting the Section 232 investigation, which examines the impact of imports on national security.
Following the overnight announcement of the new US tariffs, including those on patented pharmaceuticals, Tánaiste Harris said:
“We will be studying the impact of this announcement, which includes a number of exemptions, together with EU colleagues.”
He added:
“This remains the case and underlines again the value of the agreement reached last month.”
Returning home after a series of valuable meetings in both New York and Washington, where he met with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Harris expressed his continued confidence in the strong economic ties between Ireland and the US, as well as between the EU and the US.
A government readout from the meeting with Mr. Lutnick stated that it provided an opportunity to review the EU-US framework. Discussions included the potential to expand the list of goods exempt from the baseline 15 per cent tariff rate, with particular interest from Ireland in sectors such as spirits and medical technology.
They also discussed the issue of non-tariff barriers, as well as the ongoing Section 232 investigations on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
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**Read more:**
[Trump announces 100% import tariff on pharmaceutical drugs]
https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/harris-says-eu-us-deal-made-absolutely-clear-pharma-tariffs-capped-at-15-1811261.html
