Johnson and Johnson warns pharma tariffs could cause drug shortages

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The CEO of Johnson and Johnson has warned that the potential American definitions in the drug industry could lead to a lack of medicines.

The industry has been excluded from the widely announced definitions of this month, but the Trump administration has made it clear that it is considering using it to try to enhance local manufacturing.

The United States currently does not have a tariff for pharmaceutical products due to the exemption in the 1994 trade organization’s trade deal.

“There is a reason that makes the pharmaceutical tariff zero,” Joaquin Duato, who leads one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and medical devices in the world, said in a call with analysts on Tuesday.

Medical devices and technology, such as the surgical robots made by J&S, have been exposed through the new American definitions.

“If what you want is to build the manufacturing capacity in the United States, whether in Med Tech or in medications, the most effective answer is the tariff but tax policy.”

In March, J & J announced that it would invest $ 55 billion in new factories in the United States over the next four years, which it said was a 25 percent increase in investment compared to the previous four years.

On Monday, the US administration said it had begun investigating the effects of national security of relying on drug imports. The investigation began on April 1 and will consult for a period of 21 days.

Duato said it is believed that it is important for health care companies to work with the administration “to alleviate some of the existing weaknesses … in our health care supplies”, in response to a question about the possible investigation and definitions.

Joe Wolk, Financial Director of J & J, said that the company wants to “be confirmed to the administration and its operation.”

The pharmaceutical industry has generally refrained from condemning definitions publicly, in the hope that the negotiations will prevail behind the scenes. But Duato’s comments come after Michelle Demari, Astrazeneca Chair, warning on Friday that the customs tariff could harm patients, health systems, and “restrict healthy rights.”

In the results published on Tuesday, J & J maintained its amending expectations per share throughout the year from 10.50 to 10.70 dollars, despite the collaboration at $ 400 million in costs often related to the definitions of medical devices.

Its sales in the first quarter of the year amounted to $ 21.9 billion, an increase of 2.4 percent over the same period last year. Analysts expected 21.6 billion dollars.