Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 20, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 3, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAt a Rome, Georgia event, Trump said after meeting Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan that the drugmaker is building 11 U.S. plants, crediting tariffs. Novartis cited NC and CA groundbreakings and plans for radioligand manufacturing in Florida.
ROME, Georgia, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he met Vas Narasimhan, the chief executive officer of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, at the White House on Wednesday.
Trump, addressing workers at a steel plant in Rome, Georgia on Thursday, said Narasimhan told him during the meeting that his company was building 11 U.S. plants as a result of the president's tariff policies.
"We appreciate the opportunity to update the U.S. government on our progress, including recent groundbreakings for manufacturing and research facilities in North Carolina and California and plans to expand our radioligand therapy manufacturing network with a new site in Florida," a spokesperson for Novartis told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The statement did not add any details on the number of facilities planned in the U.S.
Last year, the Swiss drugmaker said it planned to spend $23 billion to build and expand 10 facilities in the U.S. after the Trump administration threatened to impose drug import duties.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Sneha SK, Additional reporting by Abu Sultan in Bengaluru; Writing by Andrea Shalal, Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Kate Mayberry)
Trump said after meeting Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan that the company is building 11 U.S. plants, linking the move to his tariff policies. Novartis highlighted recent and planned U.S. facilities.
A spokesperson cited recent groundbreakings in North Carolina and California and plans to expand its radioligand therapy manufacturing network with a site in Florida.
No. While Trump cited 11 plants, Novartis did not specify a total number in its statement. Previously, it outlined $23B to build and expand 10 U.S. facilities.
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