The UK’s medicine supply could be disrupted by sweeping tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, the health secretary has warned, saying cabinet ministers are doing their best to mitigate the impacts of an “extremely volatile and turbulent” situation.
It comes after the US president said he is not looking to pause the tariffs which have plunged global markets into turmoil.
Wes Streeting said there are a “number of factors at play” when it comes to the UK’s supply of medicines, including manufacturing and distribution challenges, but warned that tariffs pose “another layer of challenge”.
“Until this trade war erupted, we’d already had issues with medicines production and supply internationally”, he warned.
In March, official figures revealed that UK drug shortages had risen to their worst level for four years, with Brexit considered a key reason so many medications are scarce.
Medicine companies notified the Department of Health and Social Care about supply disruptions 1,938 times in 2024 – the highest number since 2021 when they were notified 1,967 times.
A report from the Nuffield Trust said the UK is facing “a worsening situation” compared with the rest of Europe as result of supply chain issues caused by Brexit.
Speaking to Sky News, the health secretary said: “We watch this situation extremely closely. We work on a daily basis to make sure that we have the medicine supply this country needs.
“Where we do see disruptions to supply, we also take steps at the dispensing end to show the flexibility needed to make sure people can access the prescriptions they need.
“But whether it’s medicines, whether it’s parts for manufacturing, whether it’s global trade, more generally, this is an extremely volatile and turbulent backdrop for the country, and that’s why the prime minister, the trade secretary, the entire cabinet are focused on this and making sure that we’re taking the steps needed here at home to protect British industries and Britain’s public services”.
The trade taxes Mr Trump imposed on goods from most countries resulted in the value of US stocks dropping sharply when markets opened on Monday, following falls in London and across Europe and Asia earlier.
The UK government is currently attempting to negotiate a deal which would exempt British industry from the sweeping tariffs, with Downing Street saying the talks are at an “advanced stage”.
But asked by reporters in the White House if he was open to pausing tariffs to allow for negotiations, the US leader said: “We’re not looking at that.”
Mr Trump also suggested that the levies could be both a negotiating tool to extract concessions out of other countries, as well as a means to raise cash for US coffers.
“They can both be true, they can be permanent tariffs, and they can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs,” Mr Trump said in the Oval Office.
The prime minister earlier said the UK had to “rise together as a nation” in the face of a new era of global instability, as the tariffs began to take effect on the markets.
Speaking at a Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant in the West Midlands, Sir Keir said: “These are challenging times, but we have chosen to come here because we are going to back you to the hilt.”
He said the visit was a “statement of intent”, showing the government’s support for an industry which has been hit with a 25 per cent tariff by Mr Trump.
