AstraZeneca to invest $50 billion in US by 2030 amid Trump tariff fears
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot announced from Washington that the group would invest around $50 billion in the United States over the next five years to expand its production capacity across the Atlantic.
According to the company, this would enable it to reach $80 billion in revenue, with half of that figure generated in the United States.
The investments will support the construction of a new drug manufacturing facility in Virginia and the expansion of existing research centres in Maryland, Massachusetts, California, Indiana, and Texas.
These investments follow a trend observed among other major companies in recent months, such as Roche – which has also signalled plans to invest around $50 billion in the US – as well as Novartis, Sanofi, and Johnson & Johnson. Analysts, however, noted that most of those investments had been in the pipeline for some time.
In Brussels, these announcements heightened fears of a potential exodus of major pharmaceutical companies across the Atlantic.
Trump threatened to impose 200% tariffs
The direction of these investments is largely driven by threats from the Trump administration to impose massive tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector.
In recent months, the US president has repeatedly stated his intention to boost domestic drug manufacturing, citing a significant deficit in this area. One-third of European exports to the US are pharmaceuticals, with the EU generating a €70 billion trade surplus in the sector.
To address this imbalance, Trump threatened as recently as July to impose a 200% tariff on certain medicines, declaring that manufacturers would have "one to two years" to bring production back to the US.
'For decades, Americans have depended on foreign countries for essential pharmaceutical supplies. President Trump and our new tariff policies aim to correct this structural weakness,' commented US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
'We are proud that AstraZeneca has chosen to relocate a significant portion of its pharmaceutical production,' he added.
While tariffs have played a role in AstraZeneca's decision-making, the company had already prioritised the United States as a key market even before Trump's return to the Oval Office. In 2024, the Anglo-Swedish firm generated 40% of its revenue in the US.
(bms, aw)
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