Washington. The United States announced yesterday an agreement with Great Britain for the application of zero tariffs on pharmaceutical products and medical technology, in exchange for greater British spending on medicines.
“The United States and the United Kingdom announce this negotiated pricing outcome for innovative pharmaceuticals, which will help drive investment and innovation in both countries,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement.
The agreement gives UK companies a more favorable trade status than the EU and Switzerland, whose products must be taxed at 15 percent.
“The purpose of the agreement is to ensure that American patients do not pay high prices for their medications to subsidize health care in other developed countries,” Greer said.
The decision made by London and Washington on the pharmaceutical sector follows the trade agreement that came into force a few months ago and limits most US tariffs on British products to 10 percent.
Several industry giants have already signed exemption agreements with the US administration, including British industry leaders AstraZeneca and GSK.
Both pharmaceutical groups announced multimillion-dollar investments in the United States, and committed to reducing their tariffs in exchange for exemption from customs duties.
Rates reduced for Korean cars
Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, announced that the United States will reduce tariffs applied to the import of automobiles from South Korea to 15 percent, retroactively to November 1, and will equal the reciprocal tariffs imposed on Japan and the European Union (EU).