Potential US tariff exemption for Swiss pharma is not necessarily a boon

American President Donald Trump is pressuring the pharma industry with tariffs, from which Swiss manufacturers might be exempted. But experts say that tariffs will have lesser impact on the industry than pricing. Rumours of preferred treatment for Swiss pharmaceutical exports to the United States have been circulating online over the last few weeks, as the two countries are finalising an agreement on Washington’s reciprocal tariffs, which is expected by August 1. The US would refrain from imposing tariffs on an industry vital for Switzerland, according to anonymous sources speaking to Bloomberg. But President Trump made no mention of a Swiss exemption when he declared two weeks ago that from August 1, US customs will gradually impose tariffs on pharma imports that will eventually reach 200% over the next year-to-year-and-a-half. This was the conclusion of an investigation which the US administration launched mid-April to determine whether the country’s pharmaceutical imports posed ...