Britain agrees full text of US-UK pharmaceutical trade deal

Britain agrees full text of US-UK pharmaceutical trade deal

LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) – Britain said it had agreed the full text of ​a U.S.-UK pharmaceutical partnership on Thursday, setting out terms under which British-made ‌medicines would enter the United States tariff-free.

The agreement, reached as part of a wider U.S.-UK trade accord signed last year, commits Washington to a zero tariff on British pharmaceutical exports for at least ​three years. The British government has said the deal would make Britain the ​only country with tariff-free access for medicines to the U.S. market.

British ⁠business and trade minister, Peter Kyle, said the partnership would support Britain’s world‑leading pharmaceutical ​sector while protecting high‑skilled jobs, adding that it demonstrated the strength of the U.S.-British ​economic relationship.

The White House and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pharmaceuticals account for about a fifth of British goods exports to the United States ​by value, according to government data.

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Britain has also said the deal shielded medical technology ​exports from additional tariffs and included assurances it would receive mitigations under a proposed U.S. “most favoured nation” ‌drug ⁠pricing policy, which seeks to bring U.S. medicine prices closer to those in other developed countries.

The pharmaceuticals provisions were negotiated separately from the wider U.S.-British trade deal signed by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer in June 2025, with the two ​sides unveiling the outline ​terms in December.

Britain-headquartered ⁠drugmakers AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab and GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab separately struck most-favoured-nation pricing deals with the Trump administration last year that included three-year protection from potential U.S. ​pharmaceutical tariffs, underscoring Washington’s broader use of tariff threats in ​negotiations with ⁠the sector.

Following agreement of the full text, a GSK spokesperson said the company was pleased the deal had been finalised, adding that it provided certainty on zero tariffs for medicines ⁠and improved ​the British operating environment while rewarding innovation.

The spokesperson ​added that work now needed to happen “at pace” on the detailed action to deliver the improvements.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by VoM News staff and is published from the syndicated feed)