Crogue Patrick’s peak rules the skyline of Westport, a cute town on Ireland’s Atlantic coast. Meanwhile, dominating the economy are not too light windowless grey factory units that manufacture the entire supply of Botox for US businesses. And Donald Trump hopes that Pharma production will return home.
The US President this week reinforced his criticism of American companies’ operations. His threat to impose tariffs to encourage relanding is weighing 7,000 people in Westport. Of these, about 1,500 are employed by Abbvie to create wrinkle-producing medicines.
“People are holding their breath,” said Geraldine Holkan, chief executive of the Westport Chamber of Commerce, who worked for Allergan before Abbabie acquired it in 2020.
Ireland is a major hub for US pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson.
In addition to Botox, westport mixes a vial of powder with saline to inject into the forehead of celebrities, or to treat cerebral palsy or muscle convulsions, Ireland factories eliminate active ingredients in drugs such as viagra, Weitross treatment munaro and high cholesterol statins.
Ireland was in a hurry to export medicines to the US before tariffs fell. In February, 91% of all exports of goods to the United States were chemicals and related products, including medical and pharmaceutical products. According to official trade data, Irish Pharma exports for the first two months of the year reached nearly 20 billion euros compared to 44 billion euros overall last year.
Despite Trump’s global tariffs that he suspended last week at a baseline global rate that was disputed at a 10% dispute over trade talks with the EU and other countries, the drugs currently have no tariffs.
Ireland’s Foreign and Trade Minister Simon Harris says it is “inappropriate” and “strange” for the US to impose tariffs during negotiations.
However, the reprieve seems more and more unlikely. The US Department of Commerce has launched a “Section 232” investigation into the sector that will allow the president to restrict imports that are deemed a threat to national security.
That could potentially lead to tariffs in “next month or two months,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
Trump, who used a meeting with Taojeech Mishal Martin last month to complain that Ireland “is the whole US pharmaceutical industry knows,” went on a rampage again in the sector on Monday.
“We don’t make our own drugs. We don’t make our own medicines anymore. The pharmaceutical companies are in Ireland and many other places. It’s China,” he said.
Allergan opened a factory in Westport in 1977 to produce contact lens solutions and eye care products. Currently, Real Money-Spinner is Botox, but the facility produces eye care medicines, with 70% of Westport’s production being sold in the US.
Botox has competitors who make chemically similar products. Rival Drugs include dysports produced by French Ibsen and Zeomin in Mertz, Germany, but Abbabie is confident that he can maintain his leadership position.
According to Abbvie, Botox brought in $2.722 billion in net revenue last year, while Therapeutic Botox won $3.3 billion. Tariffs increase the price of drugs for users, and cosmetic applications are not covered by US health insurance.
Abbvie has not officially disclosed where the product is manufactured — investing 160 million euros in the second biological facility in Westport 2020, and production cannot “moved overnight.” “(Trump’s) cheap remarks don’t benefit anyone,” he said.
“As the automation of production lines and the standards for high quality are increasing, Ireland’s focus has changed along with multinational companies employing high quality, experienced people, where many people play a key role in R&D,” he added.
Ireland is the world’s third largest pharmaceutical exporter, with 90 sites supplying it to the EU, other countries and the US. Over the past decade, over 10 billion euros have been invested in the sector. Denmark, Switzerland and Singapore are other countries with a large pharmaceutical sector now in Trump’s view.
Many drugmakers have responded by announcing large investments in the US. Johnson & Johnson has pledged $55 billion over the next four years, while Eli Lily has invested $27 billion, while Swiss drug maker Novartis said last week that it would invest $23 billion in manufacturing and R&D.
The Pharma boss wrote to the European Commission’s Ursula von der Leyen that Europe risks losing 100 million euros of investment and R&D spending over the next five years.
However, Ireland is uniquely vulnerable to Trump’s actions. In addition to Big Pharma, it hosts large-scale operations of European Headquarters or US tech giants.
Tech and Pharma create huge corporate tax contributions that have resulted in huge budget surplus.
Botox has also helped Westport grow into a colorful and bustling boat festival, restaurants, hotels, chic shops and traditional bars.
Not only is it the town’s largest employer, the company is also a prominent supporter and sponsor of local initiatives and sports teams. “It’s going to be a huge loss,” said Adrian Noonan, owner of the Knocklany House Hotel, the town’s first four-star hotel next to the factory where the visiting executives and board meetings were held.
New pharmaceutical factories require regulatory approval. This could mean years of delay in moving production to the US, but analysts said executives have already denounced the brakes on Ireland’s future investment plans.
“We’re all very concerned,” said local pharmacist Philip Heaney. “They talk about Canada being the 51st (our) state, but with Pharma, we are pretty much the same.”
