
AstraZeneca To Invest $50 Bn In The US As Tariff Threat Looms
The funds will boost its manufacturing and research operations in the US, including the construction of a multi-billion-dollar factory in Virginia, the company said in a statement.
"Today's announcement underpins our belief in America's innovation in biopharmaceuticals," chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump has opened the door to potential tariffs targeting pharmaceuticals, which had up to now benefited from exemptions to his sweeping levies on imports from trading partners.
He ordered an investigation into pharmaceutical imports, suggesting that levies could reach up to 200 percent.
The United States is a key market for the pharmaceutical industry, and AstraZeneca said it expects 50 percent of its revenue to come from the US by 2030.
AstraZeneca has already begun transferring part of its European production to the United States, it announced in April.
While the drugmaker could become exposed to US levies on its European-made products, Soriot has said that the impact would be limited due to the ongoing shift in production.
Other major pharmaceutical companies, which had been exempt from tariffs for 30 years, have in recent months begun shifting investment and production to the United States.
Swiss pharmaceutical giants Roche and Novartis and France's Sanofi have all announced multi-billion-dollar investments in the US.
"For decades, Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products," US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement.
He added that the new tariffs are focused on "ending this structural weakness".
Tuesday's announcement included a new factory in Virginia, which will be the company's "largest single manufacturing investment".
It adds to AstraZeneca's previously announced $3.5 billion investment in the US by 2026.
"Soriot implied... that AstraZeneca wasn't wedded to a particular country and that it would invest wherever it made financial sense," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
However, he noted that "the more business it does in the country, the greater the likelihood that investors might push for AstraZeneca to switch its main stock listing to the US."
The pharmaceutical company abandoned plans earlier in the year to build a GBP450 million ($606 million) vaccine plant in the UK city of Liverpool, citing timing issues and a reduction in subsidies offered by the government.
The move "was the big clue that it was losing patience with the UK government," said Mould.
AstraZeneca reported a first-quarter profit rise of over 30 percent in April, noting that 40 percent of its revenue was generated in the US.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
US Pushes To Revoke Scientific Ruling That Underpins Climate Regulations
President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday moved to reverse a foundational scientific determination that underpins the US government's authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles and, more broadly, to combat climate change. Speaking at an auto dealership in Indianapolis, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin argued that the 2009 Endangerment Finding was based on flawed reasoning and had inflicted serious economic harm. "If finalized, today's announcement would amount to the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States," he said, standing alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who added his department had carried out a new study about climate science. The proposed move -- first announced in March -- will be subject to a 45-day public comment period and is certain to face legal challenges. While Zeldin cast the move as a way to reverse what he called the "Biden-Harris administration's electric vehicle (EV) mandate," revoking the Endangerment Finding could also unravel the legal basis for a wide array of climate regulations, including those on power plants and oil and gas operations. In his remarks, Zeldin accused the EPA under former president Barack Obama, a Democrat, of making "mental leaps" in determining that heat-trapping gases posed a threat to public health and welfare. The EPA said in a press release that the finding had "been used to justify over $1 trillion in regulations" and undoing it would save $54 billion annually. The Endangerment Finding was grounded in overwhelming scientific consensus and peer-reviewed research. It followed a landmark 2007 Supreme Court ruling that found greenhouse gases qualify as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and directed the EPA to revisit its position. Transportation accounts for 28 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions -- more than any other sector. According to a recent analysis by the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, if it were a country, the US transportation sector would rank as the fourth largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally, while the power sector would be fifth. Environmental groups and states are expected to swiftly sue. The case could ultimately reach the Supreme Court, which may need to overturn its own 2007 precedent to side with the current Republican administration. Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity told AFP the Endangerment Finding has survived multiple legal challenges by industry over the years. "But this time, it's the government itself mounting the attack," he said. "Hopefully they will recognize that this is science and not politics -- that there was a good reason for that precedent and no good reason to revoke it," said Becker. "But this is a very political court." He added that the administration's cost-saving arguments were misleading, pointing to official data showing that rules now targeted for repeal saved the average American driver $6,000 in fuel and maintenance over the lifetime of vehicles built under the standards. "It's abundantly clear what's going on here," said Gretchen Goldman, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The Trump administration refuses to acknowledge robust climate science and is using the kitchen sink approach: making every specious argument it can to avoid complying with the law." Since returning to office, Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement and launched a sweeping campaign to expand fossil fuel development -- including new moves this week to open ecologically sensitive areas of Alaska to drilling. The announcement comes as the planet swelters under record heat. Tens of millions of Americans are baking under a brutal heat dome in the Southeast, while climate-fueled flooding earlier this month killed more than 100 people in Texas.


DW
4 hours ago
- DW
How Trump's trip split Scotland – DW – 07/29/2025
The US president has a soft spot for Scotland — but the feeling isn't mutual for most Scots. Trump's business-and-pleasure trip offered political wins for both sides. Will Scotland keep him at an arm's length? Donald Trump may be the most powerful member of Scotland's diaspora, but most people in his mother's country of birth did not view the US president's recent trip as the return of a prodigal son. As Trump touched down in Ayrshire late last week to begin a golfing holiday heavy on global geopolitics, Scotland's nationalist-leaning newspaper printed a front page that summed up how many here see him: "Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland," it read. Anti-Trump protesters gathered under grey summer skies in Aberdeen on Saturday vented about the visit. "Deport Donald!" was scrawled on one cardboard placard. "Yer maw was an immigrant!" another sign read, adding some Scottish slang into the proverbial mudslinging. "Donald Trump does not represent the politics of the people of Scotland," demonstrator Alena Ivanova told DW. "He's not welcome here because he represents hate, and we support community and working together." This outright outrage at Trump's visit may be confined to opposition and activist circles, but Ivanona does have a broader point: Evidence shows the US president's politics don't chime with the majority of Scots. When asked how much they like him, Scots scored Trump an average of 1.76 out of 10. "Even those people who are more positive about him aren't going to be love-bombing him — and aren't expressing great affection for him," political scientist Chris Carman told DW. "Scots tend to see themselves as being more communitarian and somewhat more progressive," Carman, a professor at the University of Glasgow who crunched the polling numbers, explained. For now, the biggest political battle lines in Scotland — a nation of 5.5 million — are not between left and right. In fact, the most popular parties are both center-left, and instead public opinion is split on whether Scotland should divorce itself from the rest of the United Kingdom. The anti-Trump mood goes right to the top here. First Minister John Swinney, who heads up the devolved Scottish government in Edinburgh, publicly backed Trump rival Kamala Harris in last year's US elections. In February, Swinney accused Trump of promoting "ethnic cleansing" over his comments about Gaza. But a lack of enthusiasm from the public did little to dampen Trump's mood this week. He seemed right at home as he cut the ribbon on his third Scottish golf resort, which includes a course named after his mother Mary Anne McLeod, who left Scotland for New York aged 18. To this day, Trump has first cousins living in the country. "We love Scotland," a visibly upbeat US president said on Tuesday. He even extended a rare compliment to journalists here. "They're not fake news — today they're wonderful news," he said. This kind of trip, mixing the private with the political — and business with pleasure — is unusual for a sitting US president. By now, America's allies are accustomed to Trump's tendency to upend diplomatic norms, but the sight of a US leader playing host to UK and Scottish counterparts as guests on their own soil was still striking. Trump was in control, but they seemed happy to play along — and all three will go back to their capitals claiming diplomatic or economic wins. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video UK prime minister Keir Starmer and Scotland's John Swinney both pressed Trump to use his influence to end the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, and Trump appeared to toughen his position on Russia — music to the ears of European allies. On a more personal level, Trump seemed sold on Scotland's Swinney, calling him a "terrific guy" before leaving on Tuesday. But Swinney was more cautious in his assessment, reflecting the political tightrope he is walking. Swinney steered clear of his past Trump-bashing, but also dodged repeated questions on whether he "liked" the US president. "He was pleasant company," Swinney told Scottish broadcaster STV on Tuesday. "I think my personal feelings about people are irrelevant. I've got a job to do," he added. That job includes trying to cushion the blow of US tariffs to Scotch whisky, one of the country's biggest exports. And some have been urging the first minister to drop the "grin and bear it" approach and embrace Trump to reap the possible rewards of the most powerful man in the world having a soft spot for Scotland. "I don't think we should expect all Scots to love Donald Trump. But we need to respect the position of president of the United States," businessman Allan Henderson told DW on Tuesday. "If he is prepared to invest in our country and employ people," he added, "then I'm sorry, I would get behind that." "We rely on goods like Scotch exports to the United States. The last thing you want to do is to put that industry into peril." Swinney told reporters on Tuesday that Trump had showed "willingness' to look at issues raised, including exempting whisky from US duties. No formal deal for Scotch was struck. Businessman Allan Henderson's home region of Aberdeenshire is no stranger to Trump-driven controversy. The US president was quick to bring up his age-old Aberdonian foe during this latest visit. For more than a decade, Trump has been railing against wind turbines that generate renewable energy near Aberdeen and elsewhere. He even unsuccessfully sued the Scottish government to try and halt construction of a wind farm near his golf course — a case that made it all the way to the UK Supreme Court. "Get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil," was Trump's message to Scotland before embarking on his most recent trip. As Trump winds up his five-day working holiday in Scotland, it's likely that his stake in Scottish politics may long outlive his presidency. After all, his business interests will continue to be bound by laws laid down in Edinburgh and London. Political scientist Chris Carman said it was not simply "a one-way street" whereby Scottish First Minister John Swinney is scrambling to make it positive. "Both leaders have an interest in trying to make sure that there's that positive dialogue between the Trump Organization and the Scottish government." "Donald Trump is perfectly willing to leverage both his soft and hard power in pursuing his financial interests and protecting his financial interests in Scotland," Carman told DW.. And that leaves at least one certainty for Scotland in a world increasingly defined by the stroke of an unpredictable presidential pen. As Carman put it: "Donald Trump is going to be a feature in Scottish politics."


Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Says Fell Out With Epstein Because He Was Taking Mar-a-Lago Spa Staff
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he fell out with Jeffrey Epstein because the convicted sex offender had poached staff from his club's spa, including the woman at the center of an underage sex scandal involving Prince Andrew. The White House has said previously that Trump threw Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago club two decades ago "for being a creep" and US media has reported that they became estranged over a Florida real estate deal. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One while flying home from Scotland, Trump gave some of his most expansive public comments yet about his falling out with Epstein, the wealthy and well-connected financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking underage girls. "People were taken out of the (Mar-a-Lago) spa, hired by him, in other words gone," Trump said. "When I heard about it, I told him, I said, 'Listen, we don't want you taking our people.' "And then not too long after that, he did it again. And I said, 'Out of here.'" Trump also confirmed that one of the Mar-a-Lago spa attendants taken by his longtime friend Epstein was Virginia Giuffre, who brought a civil case against Epstein friend Prince Andrew, accusing him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Giuffre, who accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, committed suicide at her home in Australia in April. "I think she worked at the spa," Trump said. "I think that was one of the people. He stole her." Before taking office in January, Trump promised to release more information about Epstein, who right-wing conspiracy theorists allege trafficked young girls for VIPs. Trump infuriated some of supporters, however, when the FBI and Justice Department announced in early July that they had not discovered any new elements warranting the release of additional information about Epstein. Scrutiny has been intensifying ever since on Trump's own relationship with Epstein. Seeking to tamp down the furor, the Justice Department has sought the release of grand jury transcripts from the investigation into Epstein and interviewed Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's imprisoned accomplice, last week. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche -- who is also Trump's former personal attorney -- met with Maxwell over two days but declined to say what was discussed in the highly unusual meetings between a convicted felon and a top Justice Department official. Maxwell, 63, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of recruiting underage girls for Epstein, offered meanwhile to testify before a House of Representatives committee but only if granted immunity. Maxwell's lawyers, in a letter to the House committee which has subpoenaed her to testify next month, said she would be prepared to do so "if a fair and safe path forward can be established." "If Ms Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing -- and eager -- to testify openly and honestly, in public," they said. Without clemency, the former British socialite would only testify if granted immunity. "Ms Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity," her lawyers said. Maxwell would also need to see potential questions in advance and would not agree to be interviewed at the Florida prison where she is being held, they said. Finally, her lawyers said, any testimony could only come after the Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear Maxwell's appeal seeking to have her conviction overturned. They said that if the conditions could not be met Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.