Trump Announces Major Plan to Cut Prescription Drug Prices in the US

Washington, Dec 2025 : US President Donald Trump unveiled what he called the most extensive effort in decades to lower prescription drug prices in the United States, promising that American patients would soon pay no more than the lowest prices charged anywhere in the world.

Speaking at the White House, Trump emphasized that Americans had long borne disproportionately high costs compared to patients overseas. “For decades, Americans have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, by far,” he said. “We have 4 percent of the world’s population… yet pharmaceutical companies make 75 percent of their profits.”

The announcement was made in the presence of senior administration officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary. Top executives from major global pharmaceutical companies were also present, including Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, Genentech CEO Ashley Magargee, Gilead CEO Dan O’Day, GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Merck CEO Robert Davies, Bristol Myers Squibb General Counsel Cari Gallman, Boehringer Ingelheim (USA) CEO Jean-Michel Boers, and Amgen Executive Vice President Peter Griffith.

Trump said that leading pharmaceutical firms had agreed to reduce prices on their flagship drugs, offering these medicines to Americans at globally benchmarked rates. “We signed historic agreements… to reduce prices by 300, 400, 500, 600 and even 700 percent,” he stated.

To ensure compliance, the President warned that trade measures, including tariffs, could be imposed if companies failed to follow through. “If they don’t, we’re going to put tariffs on them. We would never be able to do this without the use of tariffs,” he said. Trump also indicated that US drug prices would start falling next year, describing the reductions as “fast and furious.”

Highlighting patient benefits, Trump stressed that the savings should go directly to consumers rather than insurance companies. “The money should be paid not to the insurance companies, directly to the people,” he said, reinforcing his administration’s focus on making medicines more affordable for the public.

High prescription drug prices have been a longstanding political issue in the United States, particularly affecting seniors and patients with chronic illnesses. Previous administrations have struggled to reduce costs without provoking industry backlash. Trump has consistently argued that Americans subsidize lower drug prices abroad and has revived his “most favored nations” pricing concept, which ties US prices to international benchmarks.

With these new agreements and the planned enforcement measures, the Trump administration aims to make prescription medications significantly more affordable, marking a major shift in the US healthcare and pharmaceutical landscape.