BRITAIN will strip Chinese ingredients from UK-made medicines bound for the US after pressure from Donald Trump, The Sun can reveal.
The condition is part of the landmark UK-US trade pact signed last week, which slashed tariffs on British steel and car exports.
GettyThe restriction applies only to exports – meaning medicines for British patients can still include ingredients from China[/caption]
AFPPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with US President Donald Trump[/caption]
In return, Britain had to swallow strict national security measures – including a clause to stop the UK becoming a “backdoor” for Chinese goods entering the American market.
The US President has long accused the Communist giant of rigging trade, stealing IP and flooding Western markets with cheap state-backed goods.
It is understood one key demand is that any drugs exported from Britain to America must be free from Chinese-made chemicals and components.
A Government source told The Sun: “We are going to work with the pharmaceutical industry to secure the supply chain.”
The restriction applies only to exports – meaning medicines for British patients can still include ingredients from China.
But insiders fear it could fuel wider pressure to cut ties with Beijing across the board.
The UK is heavily dependent on Chinese drug factories, with around 80 per cent of the chemicals used in global medicine production sourced from China – including those used in antibiotics, painkillers and treatments for sepsis, diabetes and high blood pressure.
China yesterday reacted furiously to the deal, accusing the UK of teaming up with Washington to shut Chinese firms out of Western markets.
Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told the FT: “Co-operation between states should not be conducted against or to the detriment of the interests of third parties,”
But campaigners say Britain is still far too reliant on China for life-saving supplies – and must go further.
Luke de Pulford, of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said: “The UK cosplays as tough on China to placate the US, but when it comes to the actual policy, we don’t deliver. The UK is too dependent on Beijing for pharmaceuticals and, like the US, needs to diversify. If US consumers need to be protected from dependency on totalitarian Xi for medicines, so do we.”
Despite pharmaceuticals being left out of last week’s deal, UK officials say further talks are ongoing and the government claims Britain will receive “preferential treatment” if Washington imposes new tariffs on drug imports.
The boss of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry Richard Torbett said: “Although this initial deal is only a first step for pharmaceutical products, we remain convinced that reaching a favourable outcome remains possible and in the interests of both countries.
“Free trade between the UK and the US is critical to supply chain resilience, ensuring patients in both countries have access to the medicines and vaccines they need.
“US tariffs on UK pharmaceuticals run counter to that goal and should be avoided.”
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