Trump’s drug price war with Europe aims to make things cheaper for Americans

Will Europe never learn?

America’s ostensible friends keep taking advantage of us, only to be shocked when President Donald Trump holds them accountable. First, Europe refused to pay for its own defense, until the president threatened to pull out of NATO. Then Europe refused to break unfair barriers to American trade, until the president hit those nations with massive tariffs. Now the Trump administration is targeting Germany for stealing U.S. medicines. The president won’t back down until Germany stops the blatant theft — and starts giving Americans the lower drug prices we deserve.

On June 18, the Trump administration launched a major investigation into German drug pricing. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced this move after Germany proposed paying less for drugs developed in America. Regardless of whether that proposal moves forward, Germany already pays too little for American-made drugs. The country is unfairly hurting U.S. innovation and workers while sticking Americans with higher costs.

Like most European countries, Germany has been bilking America for decades. The country has forced pharmaceutical companies to sell their drugs at steep discounts, making the medicines artificially cheap. Yet drugs aren’t cheap, and it takes U.S. companies about $2.7 billion on average to bring a new pharmaceutical to market. Companies have to cover those costs, so they can keep investing in the next generation of innovative treatments. If they don’t recoup the money, they can’t employ so many U.S. workers, much less cure diseases like cancer.

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By mandating steep pricing discounts, Germany is shifting high costs to Americans. For the most expensive drugs, Americans already pay four times more than Germans. But that’s unjust. Germans are taking the same drugs as Americans, but they aren’t paying as much for the drugs’ development.

Put simply, Germans aren’t paying their fair share. And now Germany wants to pay even less!

No wonder the Trump administration is investigating Germany. Specifically, the president has launched a Section 301 investigation into the country’s "persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products." The investigation will last into the fall, with a public hearing on Sept. 22. If the Trump administration concludes that Germany has acted unfairly, it could slap tariffs on Germany in response.

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German leaders have responded the way Europeans typically respond to Trump: with outrage. They say the investigation could threaten a broader trade deal between the United States and the European Union. But if Trump has taught the world anything, it’s that he won’t settle for anything less than a better deal that helps Americans. German leaders would be wiser to start paying more — not less — for U.S. drugs, and soon.

Germany should look to the United Kingdom. Until earlier this year, the U.K. also paid far less for American medicines. But after the Trump administration threatened tariffs, the U.K. agreed to pay more. The deal isn’t perfect, but it does shift some of the unfair burden off Americans. That’s what Germany’s leaders need to do, as well: Accept the responsibility to pay for the drugs that save German lives.

If Germany sees wisdom and pays its fair share, Americans will benefit in many ways. Patients will save money as drug prices drop. The American companies that drive global medical innovation will also be able to develop new drugs, treatments, and cures. And other nations will see that America refuses to be abused on drug pricing any longer. If the rest of the world wants the life-saving drugs that we develop here, they should start paying what the drugs are worth.

The Trump administration deserves praise for holding Germany accountable. If that country’s leaders are smart, they’ll abandon their plans to gouge America even more and accept a deal that restores fairness. The U.S. deserves better than a so-called friend who steals our companies’ innovations and picks our people’s pockets. And it’s long past time for European leaders to realize that under President Trump, they can’t take advantage of America anymore.