European pharma stocks fall on Wednesday ahead of ‘Liberation Day’ announcements

European healthcare stocks fell sharply on Wednesday as investors braced for potential tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry, a sector that had largely been spared from previous rounds of trade levies.

US President Donald Trump, who has dubbed the new wave of tariffs “Liberation Day,” is expected to announce fresh measures later in the day, raising concerns about their impact on global drugmakers.

Trump said last month that he planned to announce car tariffs “very shortly” and then “we’ll be announcing pharmaceuticals at some point in the not too distant [future] because we have to have pharmaceuticals.”

The STOXX 600 Healthcare index dropped 2.5% in early trading, reaching its lowest level since December.

The broader European market also came under pressure, with the benchmark STOXX 600 index declining by 0.9%.

“This might be a reaction to the tariff announcements expected today from the US administration, which this time could focus on the pharmaceutical sector,” an analyst said.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the losses reflected growing anxiety over the tariffs.

“It’s not surprising that pharma stocks have been caught up in this wave of nervousness,” Streeter said, adding that investors are on “tenterhooks” as the clock ticks down to what’s expected to be the biggest wave of tariffs on US trading partners.