Both the EU and the U.S. are drawing up measures to bolster their domestic drug production, but both are currently hugely reliant on Asia for medicines and their compounds, especially cheaper generics.
The U.S. has one advantage: When supply issues arise in China or India, “pharmaceuticals tend to go to the U.S. over the EU because they pay more,” said Diederick Stadig, health economist at Dutch bank ING.
Medicines for Europe, a lobby group for the continent’s generics sector, wants to use the moment to work together.
“Europe or the U.S. (alone) will struggle to build competitive manufacturing,” its Director General Adrian van den Hoven said in an email. “We would be happy to work with the U.S. industry and government to tackle jointly concerns over dependence.” He added that Europe is a “major supplier” of generic medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Nevertheless, the continent’s drug shortage problem complicates any decision by Brussels to impose countermeasures on the U.S.
“I assume the Commission is thinking about this, thinking ahead and preparing counter-tariffs,” Belgium’s Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said at a Polish presidency event in Brussels this month.