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Higher near-term costs, longer-term structural shifts expected.
The new U.S.–EU pharma tariff agreement, which caps tariffs at 15% and shields EU drugs from additional Section 232 duties, is set to raise near-term costs by nearly $19 billion. Insurers are likely to absorb the initial impact before prices rise for consumers. With 60% of U.S. drug imports coming from Europe, analysts warn ongoing legal uncertainty around tariff authority could delay investment and trigger a gradual reconfiguration of global pharmaceutical production.