Trump’s call to lower drug prices: the U.S. President signals the threat of tariffs on pharmaceutical products

On July 31, 2025, the White House announced that U.S. President Donald Trump sent letters to the leaders of 17 major pharmaceutical companies, demanding they lower the prices of prescription drugs in the U.S. to match prices abroad.

Prior to this, in May 2025, Trump signed a sweeping executive order requiring drug manufacturers to reduce prices in the U.S. to the level of foreign prices, stating that if companies failed to comply, the government would enact mandatory price reduction measures or take other actions, such as importing cheaper drugs from abroad.

Trump’s call to lower prices, primarily directed at European companies, aims to displace Chinese pharmaceutical products from the U.S.