UK drug exports to US spared tariffs under deal critics say will cost NHS billions

‘Partnership’ on drug pricing also gives patients in Britain greater access to potentially life-extending treatments British drug exports to the US will escape tariffs imposed by Donald Trump as part of a controversial UK-US medicines deal that critics fear will mean less money for the NHS. The deal will also give patients in Britain greater access to potentially life-extending drugs because the rules have been relaxed to allow the NHS to pay more for particular treatments. In an announcement on Thursday, the UK government highlighted the recent approval of two cancer medicines as representing good value for money and proof that its agreement with the US administration will benefit the very unwell, not just pharmaceutical firms. They are now available because the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) from this week has increased the amount of money the NHS can spend on a treatment in the hope of giving patients a longer and higher quality of life from £30,000 to £35,000 a year. Ministers, drug industry bosses and patient groups hailed the deal as good news. For example, it would let the £5bn of British-made drugs that are sold to the US every year avoid tariffs o

Apr 2, 2026 → Apr 20, 2026