Roche CEO ‘relaxed’ over Trump tariff plans

Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker has dismissed concerns about US tariffs. Keystone-SDA / Georgios Kefalas

Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Swiss pharma firm Roche, has dismissed fears that the company’s sales targets would be threatened by potential higher US tariffs on pharmaceutical goods.

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“We are relatively relaxed because we have the entire value chain on site in the US,” he said in the TV programme CEO Talk on TeleZüri, repeating statements he had already made during the annual media conference in Basel at the end of January. He again emphasised that Roche has invested heavily in research and development in the US and also has a lot of production in the US. The Swiss pharma giant has around 25,000 employees in the USA.

+ Swiss pharma industry particularly vulnerable to tariffs

Schinecker also believes that fears that Roche’s sales and profit targets could be threatened by higher US import tariffs are unfounded. “No, we already have a lot in the US. President Trump wants people or companies to invest in the US. And we are already well invested,” he explained in the CEO Talk programme.

The situation is different with the OECD minimum tax deal. Its introduction was rather problematic: “Switzerland was too quick with the OECD minimum tax. We should have waited and seen what the other countries were doing,” he said.

The CEO also sees dangers in the subsidies that many countries use as incentives for companies, which could lead certain economic sectors to leave, he suggested. “In Switzerland, we have to think about what the leading industries are for the future and how we can ensure that Switzerland is successful in these industries in the future so that the prosperity that currently exists in Switzerland is maintained.”

At the same time, as a globally active company, Roche is dependent on good relations with other countries. He therefore hopes that Switzerland and the EU will be able to finalise their newly negotiated agreement. Not only is the EU Switzerland’s largest trading partner, as an international company Roche also needs the best employees for research and development. “In this respect, access [to the EU market] and cooperation is extremely important for us.”

Adapted from German by DeepL/jdp

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