EU retaliation against Trump drug tariffs would be bad idea, says industry
The European pharmaceutical industry has urged Brussels not to retaliate if Donald Trump brings in threatened tariffs on imported drugs, amid fears he could impose the levies as early as next week.The US president said last week that the sector-specific tariffs were coming “very soon”.There is concern in Brussels that he could impose them imminently to give himself further leverage ahead of his self-imposed 9 July deadline for trade deals with the EU and about 60 countries.At a briefing in the Belgium capital on Thursday, the president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations said it would hurt everyone if the EU hit back with its own import duties.“We’re shipping a lot of exports out of the US into Europe,” Stefan Oelrich said.
“If we add tariffs to that, it’s going to be negative for both sides,If we reciprocate on tariffs, it’s just a bad idea,It’s a bad concept,”The dynamics of the EU’s negotiations with the US remain finely balanced,France and Germany both back a quick UK-style deal and many other member states, particularly the Baltic nations, are keen to build on warmer relations with Trump after his “big win” at the Nato summit over increased defence spending, as they want to keep the president supporting Ukraine.
With the clock ticking, speculation is mounting that the EU will do a thin deal on automobiles and steel – similar to the bilateral agreement brokered by Keir Starmer in May, which comes into force on Monday – but with no optimism in the pharma industry that it will be included.Oelrich said: “There’s no specific ask [of the US] other than … to the degree possible to limit trade barriers to zero, which would be the ideal case for us and/or something similar to zero.Tariffs will increase the cost of medicine and care.Tariffs will also create, ultimately, higher costs to patients.”After EU leaders met on Thursday, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, urged the EU to do a “quick and simple” trade deal rather than a “slow and complicated” one.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he wanted a quick and pragmatic agreement but could not accept terms that were not balanced.Oelrich, who is a member of the board of management at the German pharmaceutical company Bayer, also called for a series of reforms on financing, pricing and regulation of drugs, saying such changes could help to restore Europe’s former lead in research and development of drugs.His call comes amid fears that the EU is losing out to the US and, increasingly, China, which outpaced Europe in 2023 as an originator of new active substances, with 25 brought to the world market, compared to the EU’s 17 and the US’s 28.Oelrich said data showed that a quarter of drugs in the past 10 years approved by FDA in the US had not made it to Europe because of non-tariff barriers, such as differing national regulations and pricing.“Many of the biotech companies are not even bothering engaging in Europe.
For them it makes no sense,” he said.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionAmong the other non-tariff barriers he cited were practices in the industry known as “clawbacks”, whereby governments in large economies including France and the UK agree a specific budget for procurement of particular drugs.But any surplus used in hospitals and clinics is paid for by the pharma companies as a clawback.“It’s totally senseless.And that’s happening in Europe, and that needs to stop.
I could name you endless countries that actually are doing this in Europe,” he said.“What happens too much in Europe is that the richest countries would like to align to the lowest prices in lower-equity countries … this leads to a situation which is unsustainable.”
Western Force 7-54 British & Irish Lions: rugby union – as it happened
Robert Kitson’s match report in PerthThanks for your company, join us again later in the week for the next Lions fixture v Queensland RedsRobert Kitson’s match report in PerthAndy Farrell has some reflections“In some respects the intensity went up, but this is still a newish team and our discipline in first half was an issue. Second half our defence intensity increased and discipline improved. The Force took it to us, they played a tough high percentage game and we kept them in a good position through our poor discipline so made it tough for ourselves.“This was a lot of the lads’ first game, so we’re up and running and we’ll keep pushing it forward. There were some fantastic tries, but the play of the day was Mack Hansen going up and down the field [to set up Mitchell try]
Lions cut loose with eight-try win over Western Force for solid start in Australia
A convincing first tour win for the British & Irish Lions in Australia and plenty for the management to ponder. There was much to admire in the way the Lions unzipped a gallant but outgunned Western Force side, not least the playmaking vision of their fly-half Finn Russell and the youthful energy of Henry Pollock, but this eight-try triumph did come with one uncomfortable caveat.The scrum-half Tomos Williams, one of only two Welshmen on the tour, contributed a pair of tries but was left clutching his left hamstring after completing a brilliant team score in the right corner. With the Lions facing a hectic series of fixtures in the coming fortnight, they may well have to whistle up some emergency cover.The first-half penalty count was also too high but, for the most part, this performance will have alerted the Wallabies to the Lions’ counterattacking potential and collective depth
Less death, more social media: Formula One films decades apart reveal a changed world | Emma John
‘Let’s try to get the season off to a good start, shall we? Drive the car. Don’t try to stand it on its bloody ear.”Have you watched the movie? It’s about a rule-breaking American Formula One driver, the kind who blows past blue flags and crashes into his own teammate. You must have heard of it. They shot it in real race cars, across some of the most prestigious circuits in the world
The making of Jack Draper: from teen ‘maniac’ to Wimbledon title contender
A scrappy, smart defensive player in his formative years, a late growth spurt and shrewd coaching have honed the 23-year-old Briton into an opponent others now fearTowards the end of 2018, a relatively unknown 16-year-old British tennis player took some of his first strides on the professional tennis circuit in a $15,000 (£11,000) tournament in Lagos, Nigeria on the ITF World Tennis Tour. Earlier that summer, Jack Draper had offered a glimpse into his considerable potential with a run to the Wimbledon boys’ final and his encouraging first tussles against adult opposition had earned him a modest ATP ranking of No 623. “I was very different then,” Draper says, smiling. “A bit of a maniac, to be honest.”Those experiences were key in his development for various reasons
Josh Hazlewood blitz sends Australia to victory inside three days in West Indies
It was an extraordinary final session to end the first Test in Barbados in the long shadows of the third evening. After two days of wobbles, a portion of Australia’s batting got its act together, with the lower-middle-order trio of Travis Head, Beau Webster, and Alex Carey making half centuries to lift Australia’s second innings to 310. That left West Indies needing 301 to win the first Test in Barbados, always unlikely on a Kensington Oval pitch that already had balls keeping low. Josh Hazlewood made sure of it with a withering burst of 4-4 in 16 balls, later upping that to 5-23, as West Indies crashed humiliatingly to 141 all out, losing by 159 runs.Hazlewood has been the subject of some public attention of late, given his injury absences and how well Scott Boland has performed during each one
Jake Connor shines as Leeds sweep Leigh aside to keep title charge building
This was a night where you could almost sense the mood of all those associated with Leeds Rhinos shift from cautious optimism to genuine belief about what could lie ahead . After several years of malaise, disappointment is rare in this part of West Yorkshire these days but after an underwhelming defeat to St Helens last week, Brad Arthur had demanded his side show a response. How they did that here and in some style on another impressive evening for Leeds.The ultra-demanding Arthur will probably be frustrated with the amount of points his side conceded but credit must go to Leigh, who are in the top four on merit. But when the Rhinos attacked, they were utterly sensational and were worthy winners to climb above the Leopards and move up to third
‘He left us with nothing’: the British investors swindled by a German property firm
Beetroot ketchup to avocado oil mayo: how sauces have gone gourmet
Online hacks to offline heists: crypto leaders on edge amid increasing attacks
Jeff in Venice: seven takeaways from the Bezos-Sánchez wedding
England v India: first women’s T20 cricket – live
F1: Lando Norris on pole for Austrian GP with Max Verstappen down in seventh – as it happened