Trump to sign order aimed at cutting US drug prices
US President Donald Trump announced a similar proposal to cut US drug prices during his first term. (AP pic)
WASHINGTON : President Donald Trump unveiled plans today for a new policy on pharmaceuticals he claimed would reduce US prescription drug prices by between 30% and 80%.
'They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!' Trump wrote in a social media post, adding he planned to sign an executive order bringing the new policy into effect at 9am tomorrow.
Trump said he planned to institute a 'MOST FAVORED NATION'S' policy that pinned the cost of drugs sold in the US to the lowest price paid by other countries for the same drug.
The reduction in prescription drug costs in the US would, he added, be counterbalanced by higher costs in other countries.
'Most favoured nation' status is a World Trade Organization rule that aims to prevent discrimination between a country and its trading partners, levelling the playing field for international trade.
The White House did not immediately respond to an AFP request for details of the plan.
This is not the first time that Trump has attempted to lower US drug prices.
During his first 2017-2021 term in office, he announced a similar proposal to cut US drug prices but his plans failed in the face of strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry.
Last month, the US president signed an executive order aiming to lower crippling drug prices by giving states more leeway to bargain-hunt abroad and improving the process for price negotiations.
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