WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump directly linked his plan to cut prescription drug prices with a broader trade and manufacturing strategy, saying tariffs and domestic investment would force a global reset in pharmaceutical pricing.
“We were like a whipping post, ” Trump said on Friday, referring to past US drug pricing. “We were paying one-tenth in some cases the price of drugs that are selling in Europe.”
He said foreign governments only agreed to price adjustments after the administration threatened trade penalties.
Trump delivered the remarks in the presence of senior health and commerce officials, including HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, alongside executives from major drugmakers.