US drug firm Merck says existing Trump tariffs will cost it $200m this year
The US pharmaceutical company Merck has said it expects to pay an extra $200m (£150m) in costs this year from tariffs that Donald Trump has already imposed, including his 10% tax on imports from around the world,Merck said the projected costs also included retaliatory tariffs imposed by foreign governments on the US, particularly those related to China,However, the projections do not account for threatened “major” tariffs that could be imposed just on pharmaceutical imports,The Trump administration opened a 21-day national security investigation into the industry earlier this month, seen as a first step to the imposition of levies in the coming weeks,The US president has promised to repatriate jobs and taxes he believes the pharma companies are dodging by manufacturing drugs consumed in the US elsewhere in the world including Ireland, where Merck has a base, which he has singled out for criticism.
The Swiss company Roche said on Thursday it was petitioning Washington directly for exemption from tariffs, arguing it shipped as much to the US as it exported from its manufacturing bases in the US.Earlier this week it signalled a further commitment to the US, announcing plans to invest $50bn there.In an earnings call on Thursday, Roche’s chief executive, Thomas Schinecker, said the company was going through volatile times but was well positioned.He said four of its medicines accounted for 92% of Roche’s “potential tariff exposure” and that production of three of them had already been moved to the US.Declining to name the drugs, he added that the company had begun the lengthy and highly regulated procedures for setting up US production sites.
Schinecker said indiscriminate tariffs did not take into account the sizeable manufacturing base Roche already had in the US and the complexity of the drugs it manufactured,“For diagnostics, when you have 10,000 products, you cannot produce 10,000 products in every country,”He said the company’s drug exports from its US plants were a key industry that was vulnerable to being hit by retaliatory tariffs,Switzerland could face 31% US tariffs, which Trump put on hold for 90 days earlier this month along with sweeping tariffs on almost all goods from dozens of other countries,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionPharmaceuticals are rated at a zero tariff around the world under a 1995 World Trade Organization agreement aimed at making medicines more accessible.
Schinecker said Roche was in touch with various levels of Trump’s administration, arguing that a US drive for all goods used in the country to be produced there would inflate manufacturing costs,On Thursday, the company confirmed its full-year financial guidance and reported a forecast-beating 7% rise in first-quarter sales, driven by the breast cancer drug Phesgo, the eye drug Vabysmo and the allergy treatment Xolair,Trump earlier this month reiterated plans for a “major” tariff on pharmaceutical imports, threatening an interwoven global supply chain and weighing on shares across the drug industry,
Chris Eubank Jr silences Eddie Hearn and pledges to ‘take out’ Conor Benn
The latest saga in the endless hyping of a bout that should not be happening unfolded in a pantomime atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening when Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn held their final press conference. Eubank Jr would not allow Eddie Hearn, Benn’s promoter, to talk as he constantly interrupted him and pointed out that people wanted to hear from the fighters rather than their salesmen.It presented an easy victory for Eubank as the normally garrulous Hearn soon retreated from the stage and asked his CEO at Matchroom Boxing, Frank Smith, to take over. Smith is in a relationship with Eubank Jr’s sister, Emily, but his attempts to thank various people were not much more successful.“If I’m not letting Eddie speak then there is no way you are getting a chance,” Eubank Jr said with droll nonchalance
Shannon Sharpe takes break from ESPN amid sexual assault allegations
Former NFL star Shannon Sharpe says he is stepping away from his duties as an ESPN analyst after a lawsuit was filed against him in Nevada on Sunday.The lawsuit was filed by a woman who says she met the 56-year-old Sharpe at a Los Angeles gym in 2023 when she was 20. A two-year consensual relationship ensued during which, she alleges, he raped her.Sharpe, who has previously denied the allegations, said on Thursday that the relationship was “100% consensual” and that he was “electing to step aside temporarily from my ESPN duties.”In the statement, he added: “I will be devoting this time to my family, and responding and dealing with these false and disruptive allegations set against me
Top basketball prospect Alijah Arenas reportedly in coma after car crash
Alijah Arenas, a top basketball prospect and son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, has been placed in an induced coma after a car crash in Los Angeles, according to reports.ESPN reported that the 18-year-old was involved in a crash in the early hours of Thursday morning when a Tesla Cybertruck left the road and crashed. The Los Angeles Fire Department did not officially identify the driver but the person was taken to a local hospital in serious condition.“Our thoughts and prayers are with Alijah and his family following this morning’s accident,” USC coach Eric Musselman said in a statement. “Please keep him, his teammates and friends, and the entire Arenas family in your prayers
Rocketman Rory McIlroy basking in his status as the hottest ticket in sport
Elton John and Donald Trump among those to congratulate Northern Irishman before Zurich Classic in New Orleans“Please welcome your Players and Masters champion, Rory McIlroy.”Shortly before 8am on the 10th tee at TPC Louisiana. The gallery is less than 100 in number. Still, there is extra pep in the starter’s voice. Those last four words carry such weight, they conjure such images
Eilish McColgan calls for passport ID to combat ‘faceless’ social media bullies
Eilish McColgan has revealed that she has even been body-shamed by school teachers, as she called for social media companies to use formal identification to prevent the abuse she faces every day.But McColgan, who will make her London Marathon debut on Sunday, has vowed to defy the bullies by staying on social media even though she was accused of “looking like a skeleton” and having anorexia when her mum, Liz, reposted a video of her training last month.“Having a verified account where someone has to link their passport would make a big difference, because at the moment a lot of it is nameless and faceless,” said McColgan. “I think they just assume you’re like a robot. You’re not actually a human
Carlos Alcaraz insists he will defend French Open title despite injury worry
Carlos Alcaraz is confident he will be ready to defend his French Open title next month after pulling out of the Madrid Open because of a hamstring injury sustained last week in Barcelona.“I don’t want to get ahead of myself, I don’t want to take anything for granted, but I think we’ll be confident for Roland Garros and we’re going to try to be in Rome,” said Alcaraz.After a strong start to the clay court season with his first Monte Carlo title, Alcaraz struggled with a right adductor injury during his defeat by Holger Rune in the Barcelona final on Sunday. Despite being in Madrid this week to promote the release of his new Netflix docuseries, Alcaraz was absent from the practice courts in the first four days of the tournament.On Thursday, he confirmed his withdrawal, explaining that medical tests after the Barcelona final had further revealed a hamstring injury in his left leg
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