Posted on 04/28/2025 9:29:32 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
GENEVA (AP) — Swiss pharmaceuticals powerhouse Roche announced Tuesday it plans to invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, creating 12,000 jobs.
The Basel-based company, whose array of products includes cancer medicines and multiple sclerosis treatment Ocrevus, said the investment would go toward high-tech research and development sites and new manufacturing facilities in places including California, Indiana, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
Some of the $50 billion in investments were already underway or planned for the next several years, Roche spokesperson Rebekka Schnell said in an e-mail, adding that the company was not specifying how much was announced for the first time on Tuesday.
The announcement comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has urged foreign businesses to invest more in the United States, and announced sweeping tariffs earlier this month on imports as part of hopes to reduce a large U.S. trade deficit when it comes to sales of goods.
Before the Trump administration backed off its most stringent tariff plans, products imported from Switzerland had been set to face tariffs of 31% — more than the 20% tariffs on goods from the European Union. Switzerland is not a member of the 27-country bloc but is virtually surrounded by four EU countries.
Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2 set off turmoil in world stock markets. A week later, Trump spoke by phone with Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter in a conversation that her office said focused on tariffs. She emphasized the “important role of Swiss companies and investments in the United States.”
Hours later, the U.S. president announced the U-turn that paused the steep new tariffs on about 60 countries for 90 days, fanning speculation — which was not confirmed — in some Swiss media that her chat with Trump might have played a role...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
“Today’s announced investments underscore our longstanding commitment to research, development and manufacturing in the U.S.,” said Roche CEO Thomas Schinecker in a statement.
That’s very good news.
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