The UK and the US have signed an agreement that will ensure this Customs duties on British medicines Interest rates will remain at 0% for at least three years, following US threats to increase them to 100%, the London government said on Monday.
The agreement also stipulates that the UK will increase spending on medicines and raise by 25% the cost cap, above which a treatment is considered too expensive, which will allow for more approval. Innovative treatments and accelerating the arrival of new products to the market, including those coming from the United States of America.
The agreement ensures that British pharmaceutical exports are worth at least $100,000 5 billion pounds annually Business and Trade Minister Peter Kyle (5.7 billion euros) stressed, “Entering the United States without tariffs, protecting jobs and encouraging investment.” He added that this agreement strengthens the United Kingdom’s position as a “destination for life sciences companies” by giving guarantees to companies located in British territory “to invest and develop new treatments.”
In recent months, large groups such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca have prioritized their investments in the United States to avoid the impact of potential tariff increases. The US market is the largest for British manufacturersIn the year until last September, medicines worth 11.1 billion pounds (12.65 billion euros) were exported there, i.e. 17.4% of total goods exports, according to ministry data.
The Minister stressed that this agreement is in addition to the bilateral agreement reached in May, under which taxes on cars, steel, and aluminum were reduced, and under which the pharmaceutical industry was included among the sectors subject to preferential treatment in the upcoming negotiations.