Australia worried by Trump threat to raise U.S. pharma tariffs to 250%
Trump said this week that the United States would first impose a "small" tariff on foreign-made drugs before hiking it to 150% within 18 months and eventually to 250% in an effort to boost domestic production.
Mark Butler said the plan would be a blow to producers such as CSL (CSL.AX), opens new tab, Australia's largest biotech company.
"And that is why we are working so hard to press the case for the continuation of free trade," he told reporters.
Medicines and pharmaceuticals are among Australia's top exports to the U.S, with around A$2.1 billion ($1.4 billion) in shipments last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
There has been some bilateral tension over drug pricing in Australia.
In a January submission to the U.S. government, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America trade group said Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme was "egregious and discriminatory" and "undervalued American innovation," putting jobs and exports at risk.
Butler said the national programme, which subsidises a wide range of prescription medicines for Australians, would not be changed to appease American companies and escape the threatened tariffs.
"To the extent that this is motivated by big pharma companies seeking to lobby the U.S. administration to water down the protections of our PBS, it's simply not up for negotiation under our government," he said.
($1 = 1.5302 Australian dollars)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Dollar steady before US inflation report, US-China tariff deadline
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar was little changed on Monday before Tuesday's deadline for Washington and Beijing to strike a tariff deal and a key U.S. inflation report that could help determine whether the Federal Reserve lowers borrowing costs next month. The dollar index was down less than 0.1% to 98.164 after last week's 0.4% fall. Against the yen, the U.S. currency traded at 147.39 , down 0.2%. Japanese markets were closed on Monday for the Mountain Day holiday. The euro was up less than 0.1% at $1.1652, while sterling was flat at $1.3462. The dollar remains on the back foot as investors recently adjusted their expectations for interest rate cuts from the Fed after soft U.S. jobs and manufacturing figures. Fed officials have sounded increasingly uneasy about the labour market, signalling their openness to a rate cut as soon as September. Cooling inflation could cement bets for a cut next month but if signs emerge that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are fuelling price rises it might keep the Fed on hold for now. "It's important to note ahead of tomorrow's data that the bar for a hawkish surprise is higher," said Francesco Pesole, FX strategist at ING. Pesole added that a 0.3% monthly rise in core CPI would give the Fed room to lower interest rates, given the deterioration in the labour market. Economists polled by Reuters expect core CPI to have risen 0.3% in July, pushing the annual rate higher to 3%. Money market traders are pricing in around a 90% chance of a rate cut next month, while 58 basis points of easing are priced in by year-end, implying two quarter-point cuts and around a one-in-three chance of a third. Personnel moves at the Fed have also weighed on the dollar recently as Trump prepares to install rate-setters that support his dovish views on monetary policy, including a new chair for when Jerome Powell's term ends in May. Trade talks were also in focus as Trump's August 12 deadline for a deal between the U.S. and China neared, particularly on chip policy. "The market has fully priced in the idea that we're going to get an extension," said Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone Group Ltd in Melbourne, adding that another 90-day truce was most likely. With the U.S. and China seeking to close a deal averting triple-digit goods tariffs, a U.S. official told Reuters that chip makers Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and AMD (AMD.O), opens new tab had agreed to allocate 15% of China sales revenues to the U.S. government, aiming to secure export licences for semiconductors. "I don't know if that's going to be a good thing or a bad thing, but if it puts closure on the matter, it's not a bad outcome," Weston said. "If this is Trump saying 15% and we'll call it a day, that may not be too bad." The offshore yuan fluctuated between gains and losses, trading at 7.1854 to the dollar, after weekend data showed China's producer prices fell more than expected in July, while consumer prices were unchanged. The Australian dollar fetched $0.6520 , trading flat ahead of a rate decision by the central bank on Tuesday, in which it is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points to 3.60%, after second-quarter inflation came in weaker than expected and the jobless rate hit a 3-1/2-year high. Cryptocurrencies jumped, with bitcoin rising as high as $122,308, not far from its July 14 record of $123,153.22, after Trump's executive order on Thursday freed up cryptocurrency holdings in U.S. retirement accounts. Ether rose as high as $4,346, its highest since December 2021.
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Denmark's Orsted seeks $9.4 billion as US wind market falters
COPENHAGEN, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Denmark's Orsted ( opens new tab on Monday asked its shareholders for 60 billion crowns ($9.4 billion), sending the stock sharply lower as the wind farm developer seeks to boost its finances amid U.S. President Donald Trump'sopposition to wind power. Struggling in recent years with soaring inflation and logistical problems that sent costs soaring, the offshore wind industry faced a further setback when Trump suspended licensing on his first day back in office in January. "Orsted and our industry are in an extraordinary situation with the adverse market development in the U.S. on top of the past years' macroeconomic and supply chain challenges," CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement. Orsted shares fell as much as 29% to a nine-year low of 220.2 crowns. At 0815 GMT, they were down 26% at 228.4 crowns. The rights issue is worth almost half of Orsted's market value of around 130 billion crowns as of Friday's close. Jefferies analysts said in a note that while the fundraising would help to de-risk the company's balance sheet, the near-term dilution for shareholders "seems substantial". Orsted said in a statement that the Danish state, which owns 50.1% of the company, had agreed to subscribe to a similar portion of the share issue, thus retaining a majority stake. A spokesperson for Norway's Equinor ( opens new tab, which holds a 10% stake in Orsted, said it would "assess the proposal". Any shares not subscribed for by the existing shareholders or other investors will be fully underwritten by Morgan Stanley & Co International to provide certainty that the rights issue will be completed, Orsted added. Equinor itself last month took a nearly $1 billion write-down on its separate offshore wind portfolio in the United States, blaming U.S. tariffs and uncertainty in the U.S. market. Trump campaigned on a promise to end the offshore wind industry, saying it is too expensive and hurts whales and birds. In April, his administration ordered Equinor to halt development of a fully-permitted wind farm off New York, sending shockwaves through the industry. The order was, however, reversed the following month. Orsted said uncertainty in the U.S. market had forced it to halt a planned partial divestment of its Sunrise wind project under development also off New York. The company said it would continue planned divestments of stakes in its Changhua 2 offshore wind farm in Taiwan and Hornsea 3 in Britain. In addition, it has started a process of selling its European onshore wind business, which it said would raise more than 35 billion crowns. Errboe said proceeds from the rights issue would strengthen Orsted's capital structure and help it develop the 8.1 gigawatts of offshore wind projects it currently has under construction by 2027. It said in a separate statement that its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, excluding new partnerships and cancellation fees, rose 9% year-on-year to 13.9 billion crowns in the first half of 2025. It maintained full-year guidance for an adjusted EBITDA of 25 billion-28 billion crowns and gross investment guidance of 50 billion-54 billion. ($1 = 6.3953 Danish crowns)
Reuters
a few seconds ago
- Reuters
Oil falls as markets focus on US-Russia talks
LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, extending last week's more than 4% decline, as investors looked to talks between the U.S. and Russia later this week on the war in Ukraine. Brent crude futures fell 45 cents, or 0.68%, to $66.14 a barrel by 0826 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 49 cents, or 0.77%, to $63.39. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The talks follow increased U.S. pressure on Russia, raising the prospect that penalties on Moscow could also be tightened if a peace deal is not reached. Trump set a deadline of last Friday for Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, to agree to peace or have its oil buyers face secondary sanctions. At the same time, Washington is pressing India to reduce purchases of Russian oil. UBS has lowered its year-end Brent crude forecast to $62 a barrel from $68, citing higher supply from South America and resilient output from sanctioned countries. An Exxon Mobil-led consortium began crude production four months earlier than expected at a fourth floating production, storage and offloading vessel in Guyana, Exxon said on Friday. Consultancy Energy Aspects estimated Indian refiners have already purchased WTI totalling 5 million barrels for August loadings, with an incremental 5 million barrels possible depending on tender outcomes, and 5 million barrels for September loadings. Trump's higher tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, which took effect on Thursday, are expected to weigh on economic activity as they force changes to supply chains and fuel higher inflation. Separately, data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Saturday showed China's producer prices fell more than expected in July.
