At the inauguration of a new production unit at Sanofi’s factory in Le Trait, France, November 27, 2025. LOU BENOIST/AFP
Will Donald Trump’s push for health sovereignty spell the end for the pharmaceutical industry in Europe? Under pressure from the US president, pharmaceutical laboratories have been multiplying investment pledges across the Atlantic, raising concerns over Europe’s ability to maintain its appeal in the strategic sector. In the face of the American offensive, there is a growing risk of losing ground, and with it, the last vestiges of European health sovereignty.
The US president wasted no time in launching his industrial revival. By threatening to impose tariffs on the sector, he ordered laboratories to repatriate their production and investments to US soil to avoid penalties. The strategy paid off: Over $500 billion (€427 billion) in investment has been announced by pharmaceutical manufacturers since the beginning of the year, according to US industry association PhRMA. For now, most of these are still only vague promises, but they underscore the importance of the US market in the industry’s sales strategies.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers have been quick to open their checkbooks because they are determined not to lose their footing in the US market. And for good reason: The US is a veritable cash cow, weighing heavily in the portfolios of pharmaceutical groups. The US alone accounts for more than half of global sector sales by value, more than double the revenue recorded across the entire European continent, which, nevertheless, has a larger population.
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