AstraZeneca to invest $50 billion in US, build largest factory in Virginia amid Trump tariff threats
British pharmaceutical major AstraZeneca on Tuesday unveiled a $50 billion investment plan in the United States, which includes setting up a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing facility in Virginia—its largest single investment in manufacturing to date, according to media reports.
The move comes as the Trump administration escalates pressure on foreign pharmaceutical imports through proposed steep tariffs.
According to AFP, the company anticipates that half of its global revenue will come from the US by 2030, signalling a marked strategic pivot toward the American market.
“Today’s announcement underpins our belief in America’s innovation in biopharmaceuticals,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.
The announcement coincides with US President Donald Trump intensifying his stance on imposing tariffs on drug imports—an area previously spared in earlier rounds of trade levies.
A White House-commissioned investigation is currently underway, and new duties could go as high as 200%, according to hints from the administration.
“For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products,” US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was quoted as saying by AFP.
He added that the proposed measures are designed to “end this structural weakness” in the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain.
AstraZeneca’s Virginia facility is set to be the centrepiece of its expanded footprint in the US and mirrors a broader industry trend.
Several other global drugmakers—who had largely escaped tariffs for the last three decades—are also beginning to move investment and manufacturing to American soil.
Back in April, AstraZeneca had already revealed plans to shift part of its European manufacturing base to the US, even before the current tariff momentum took shape.
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