(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) LONDON, Dec 1 (KUNA) -- The UK and the US have agreed a deal to keep tariffs on UK pharmaceutical shipments into America at zero, the BBC reported on Monday.
Under the agreement the UK will pay more for medicines through the NHS in return for a guarantee that US import taxes on pharmaceuticals made in the UK will remain at zero for three years.
The deal comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs to as high as 100% on branded drug imports.
Pharmaceuticals are one of the UK's biggest exports to the US, which is also the biggest market by far for big UK drugmakers including GSK and AstraZeneca.
Earlier this year, US president Donald Trump announced massive increases to taxes on goods imported to the country, which he argued would create jobs and boost American manufacturing.
The White House exempted pharmaceuticals from that round of tariffs, and later signed a deal with the UK to remove some trade barriers between the countries and reduce levies on most goods exported to the US to 10%. But pharmaceuticals remained a big unknown. (end)
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