French drug giant Sanofi plans massive US investment to counter Trump tariffs

French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi plans to invest billions of euros to expand its manufacturing in the United States, in response to President Donald Trump's trade policies – which include threats to impose tariffs on medicines in order to increase homegrown production.

One of the world's largest vaccine makers and a leader in anti-inflammatory drugs, Sanofi said on Wednesday that it is planning on investing $20 billion (€17.8 billion) in the next five years to expand its capacity to manufacture drugs in the US.

In a statement, Sanofi said the money would allow a substantial increase in spending on research and development in the country “to expand its US manufacturing capacity”, through direct investments in current Sanofi sites and partnerships with other domestic manufacturers.

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Since taking office, Trump has held off on imposing tarrifs on pharmaceutical products, in order to keep prices down, but his administration is conducting an investigation into imports, in an effort to impose tariffs on national security grounds.

Trump this week signed an executive order that aims to force drug manufacturers to sell their products in the US at the lowest price they do abroad, which drug makers see as a threat, as the industry uses profits in the US to fund research in the US market.

Nearly half of Sanofi's total revenue in the first quarter of 2025 came from the US. It recently sold a controlling stake in its over-the-counter drug unit, which produces the popular acetaminophen painkiller Doliprane (paracetamol), to a US investment fund.

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The company said its new investments “will be adjusted as the external environment continues to evolve”.

Sanofi employs 13,000 people in the US, and it said its new investments are expected to create "a significant number of high-paying jobs in multiple states in the coming years”.

Other pharmaceutical companies have announced similar investments in the US to try to avoid the impact of possible tariffs or other measures.

However, Swiss drug giant Roche, which announced $50 billion in US investments in April, warned Trump's drugs price plan could force it to scale back.

(with newswires)