Westport, a small coastal city in the picturesque Mayo County, western Ireland, is the unexpected center of worldly Botox supply. A factory operated by the Abbvie pharmaceutical company, based in Chicago, has hired at least 1,300 locals and about 500 additional contractors – a true economic spine for a city of only 7,000 inhabitants, writes CNN.
Therapeutic botox – used for conditions such as muscle spasticity, migraines, hyperactive bladder, certain eye diseases and excessive sweating – brought Abbvie $ 3.3 billion last year, and sales of cosmetic botox, often used for smoothing facial wrinkles, generated $ 2.72 billion.
But last week, US President Donald Trump has taken a step towards his goal of bringing this billions of dollars to the US, announcing 15% rates for all exports of pharmaceuticals in the European Union.
It is a measure that, according to some voices, could devastate cities like Westport, which was transformed by this Botox factory, from its opening by Allergan, in 1977 to its acquisition and extension in 2020 by Abbvie.
Inside the campus stretched on 61 acres – an industrial presence below Croagh Patrick, one of the most famous pilgrimage places in the country – Botox vials are processed and packaged in the form of powder, before being exported to about 70 countries, according to industry estimates.
The United States is at the head of the list, representing 70% of the total turnover of the Westport factory, which also produces eye care products, according to the documents submitted by the company for 2023.
“Will they still have a job this year at this time?”
The uncertainty about the impact of customs tariffs on the company has created anxiety for some Westport inhabitants, a community in which the long -term benefits of the factory presence cannot be underestimated. The factory is integrated into the community, supplying everything from infrastructure to sports teams and local charitable organizations.
At Abbvie United Park, the Westport United Football Club stadium, where many of the company's employees and their families gather to train or encourage their team, locals said the rates could have a significant impact.
No Abbie's employee wanted to officially talk to CNN. But Anne-Marie, the owner of a nursery, who preferred not to reveal his family name for privacy reasons, said he heard many parents working at the factory and leaving her children in her care, expressing her concern about the future.
“Are they worried about their jobs, I don't know what will happen. Will they be affected? Will they still have a job this year? Will the company be able to continue?” She said.
“And this will have a chain effect on me,” said Anne-Marie, adding: “If they do not have a job, I will not have.”
Brian Cusack, a member of the Development Committee within the Football Club, was generally more optimistic about the future, but he thinks “there will be many changes, and perhaps not for the better.”
“Westport does not know what it would be like without an American pharmaceutical treatment center. And I don't think we would like to find out what it would be like without it,” said Cusack, whose 25 -year -old daughter also works at the factory.
Trump: “We want the drugs to be manufactured in our country”
Last month, after weeks of uncertainty, the commercial agreement between the US and the EU was finally concluded. While some officials in Ireland and the rest of the European block welcomed the agreement, other European leaders considered it a measure to limit the damage. The calm after announcing the agreement was short -lived.
Ireland, the third world exporter of pharmaceutical products and the headquarters of the Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer giants, was specifically targeted by Trump, which said on Tuesday that the tariffs applied to imported pharmaceuticals could reach 250% in the next 18 months. The threat comes in the context in which the US currently conducts an investigation under Article 232 to determine whether foreign drugs represent a threat to national security, a process whose result could cancel the current Commercial Agreement between the US and the EU.
“We want the drugs to be made in our country,” said the White House leader.
But the rates themselves will probably not trigger a mass movement. Although the idea of restoring pharmaceutical production in the US resonates with Trump's electoral basis, its implementation is full of challenges.
Experts say that, although some of the production of drugs could move to existing factories in the US, complete relocation is unlikely due to high costs, regulatory obstacles, challenges related to the supply chain and long terms for the construction or relocation of high-tech factories-delays that could exceed any political changes.
Anne-Marie suggested that the measures of the US president could be purely political, but said they were still able to sow a large scale concern.
However, she emphasized the resilience of the city-and Ireland-expressing her belief that the Westport industry will be able to survive the current Washington administration.
“When he comes out of office, everything will change again-as last time,” she said, referring to Trump's first term and stressing that people's lives cannot be dictated by what it has characterized as the whims of a single man.
Prices for drugs will grow, say analysts
It is an attitude felt throughout the city, notes CNN. The local councilor in Mayo, Peter Flynn, said that although the rates created “a real headache”, the people there “continue their lives”.
Flynn, who worked in Allergan for almost three decades, said Trump's pressure to restore production to the US is unrealistic.
“This type of approach” raises and moves “about which Donald Trump talks is absurd,” he said. Flynn claims that moving the operations is extremely difficult, even internally, damaged abroad, because of the major logistics challenges they involve, without talking about the qualified workers, many of them now leaving the US “at speed”, according to him.
In addition, he added, “Anyone who is considering a location to move – whether it's India or other places from which many graduates come from – now eliminates the US from their map.”
Abbvie, who refused to talk to CNN about this subject, did not report any plan to move the Botox production center.
Referring to the customs tariffs in a recent public conference on financial results, President Abbie, Robert A. Michael, said the company “wears constructive discussions with the Administration on sectoral rates” and mentioned that “it will obviously continue to invest in the US.” On Tuesday, the company announced an investment of $ 195 million in its Chicago factory, in a larger commitment to invest over $ 10 billion in US projects in the next decade.
Other important drug producers have also announced that investments in the US will increase in response to new customs duties.
It is not clear what these investments can mean to Ireland.
But they are probably not very good news. Last year, pharmaceuticals represented 44 billion euros ($ 51.2 billion) out of total Irish exports to the US, which amounted to 72.6 billion euros ($ 84.5 billion).
Prior to the agreement on tariffs, Ireland seemed to proactive exports proactive: according to official trade data, in the first two months of this year, pharmaceuticals worth 20 billion euros ($ 23 billion) were sent to the US.
And, although it seems that the commercial war has been avoided for the moment, American consumers could be the ones who will bear the increased costs of drugs.
The Dorderik Stadig analyst from ING told CNN that a 15% rate could increase the prices of US drugs by 7% to 10%, adding up to $ 13 billion annually to health costs. Consumers could bear this burden over time, through higher health insurance premiums and higher prices for drugs in pharmacies.
In the case of products such as cosmetic botox, which is not covered by US health insurance, the costs of procedures already considered a luxury could increase, say analysts, putting additional pressure on budgets.
This worries the hotel Michael Lennon in Westport, whose American clientele is essential for the tourism industry.
“There is an innovative thinking in each of our business … and I think we will adapt,” Lennon said.
But “my concern would be that (raising rates) could affect the American economy, and we need all these Americans coming to Ireland,” he said.
Then he remembered a conversation he had with a supporting guest of Trump, who said, “What is good for America is good for Ireland.” Lennon said he hopes this will be true.
