First quarter earnings reports from Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories provided some surprising insights into the likely hit med-tech companies will sustain with current tariffs. The main takeaway? The impact of the trade war with China is far greater than expected by most analysts.

Roche AG has become the latest pharmaceutical company to respond to the Trump administration’s threat to impose tariffs, saying it will invest $50 billion in drug and diagnostics manufacturing in the U.S. over the next five years. That figure matches a similar commitment by its Basel, Switzerland-based neighbor, Novartis AG, which on April 11 said it would be investing almost $50 billion in the U.S., also over the next five years.

First quarter earnings reports from Johnson & Johnson and Abbott Laboratories provided some surprising insights into the likely hit med-tech companies will sustain with current tariffs. The main takeaway? The impact of the trade war with China is far greater than expected by most analysts.