2025-05-12 18:08
publication
2025-05-12 18:08
US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he intends to force EU countries and other countries to pay higher prices for drugs of American concerns, and at the same time force companies to lower prices in the USA. He also assessed that the EU is “nasty” than China, “there are no cards” and would agree to make concessions.
In this way, Trump described the main element of his plan to reduce the prices of drugs in America. As he announced during a press conference in the White House, he will recommend the Ministry of Trade to start investigating the practices of foreign countries – mainly from the EU – which “force very low prices from pharmaceutical companies (…), unfairly shifting the burden of costs on American patients.”
“The most important thing we will do will be to inform these countries, such as those represented by the European Union that you know, the end of this good, I'm sorry” – said Trump. “And if they want to get off, they no longer have to sell cars to the United States. But they don't get away because I will defend pharmaceutical companies,” he added.
Trump said that The authorities of the states “forced” low prices of drugs at pharmaceutical concerns, and the concerns made up for increasing prices in the US, so “American patients in practice subsidized healthcare systems in Germany and all parts of the European Union.” The US President stated that the Union in terms of approach to trade is “nasty than China”, but “there are no cards” and will have to agree to large concessions in negotiations.
“They sell us 13 million cars. We don't sell them to them. They sell us our agricultural products. We don't sell anything to them. They don't take our products. This gives us all the cards (…) so they will have to pay more for health care, and we will have to pay less” – said Trump.
Pursuant to the executive regulation he signed, other elements of the president's plan to reduce the prices of drugs assume, among others Determining medicines at the level of other developed countries by means of appropriate regulations, as well as increasing the import of medical agents from abroad. According to the text, the company will have 30 days to make progress to reduce the prices of medicines in the US, and if they do not do it, appropriate regulations are to be introduced to bring to it.
Trump said that he was in this way against the “most powerful lobby, the drug lobby”, and his health minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He said that only Trump was able to take such actions because “you can't buy it”. According to the plan, these activities are to reduce medicine prices by up to 80 percent. Currently, American prices are on average three times higher than those in other developed countries.
According to the New York Times, the president's decree may be blocked by courts if Congress does not adopt similar provisions. The initiative will encounter the opposition of the pharmaceutical industry, which has so far justified higher prices with the need to finance research on the development of new drugs.
During the Monday conference, Trump also referred to the previously announced agreement with China about the reduction of duties for 90 days. The US President stated – not quite in accordance with the facts – that China agreed to “fully open” to American products and eliminate all non -censain trade barriers. In fact, Beijing agreed to cancel customs and other retaliation, not any other barriers. Trump announced that at the end of the week he could have a telephone conversation with the leader of the PRC XI Jinping.
Pursuant to the concluded agreement – described by Trump as a “total reset” – both sides agreed to withdraw their duties from April 2, so the rate for Chinese products will be 30 % for the next 90 days, and for American – 10 percent. Meanwhile, the powers are to start talking on a comprehensive commercial agreement.
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
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