China’s response to new United States (U.S.) tariffs could complicate the supply of important medicines, an analysis of data from Chinese regulators has shown.
About two weeks ago, U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 34-percent “reciprocal” tariff on imports from China, raising the total levies to 54 percent.
China responded with a 34-percent tariff on imports from the U.S., and Washington retaliated with even higher levies.
The escalation of the U.S.-China trade conflict resulted in China raising tariffs on U.S. goods to 125 percent, and the U.S. raising tariffs on Chinese products to 145 percent.
Major pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Sanofi, GSK, and Eli Lilly, have at least one manufacturing location in the U.S. for medicines they sell in China, data from the Chinese drug administration showed.
At a facility in the U.S. state of Indiana, AstraZeneca produces the cancer drug durvalumab, and Eli Lilly manufactures the diabetes and weight-loss drug tirzepatide there, the data show.
The U.S. state of North Carolina is listed as the location where AstraZeneca and Sanofi produce the antibody for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), nirsevimab. That is also where the facility is located that produces GSK’s HIV drug with the active substances lamivudine/dolutegravir.
The data analyzed did not state how large a share of medicines produced in U.S. factories is shipped to China.
In response to an inquiry about the Chinese tariffs and their effects, an Eli Lilly spokesperson said they were “still checking the details,” refusing to comment further.
Neither AstraZeneca nor GSK wanted to comment on the Chinese tariffs, and Sanofi did not respond to the request for comment.
Experts warn that Chinese tariffs on U.S. products could lead to price increases or supply limitations for some medicines.
“Patients and consumers in China could definitely feel the effects of the tariffs, depending on the product, because medicine production cannot be relocated in a short time,” said Erik Jandrasits, head of trade affairs at the Swiss pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry association Scienceindustries.
