Trump Administration Opens Section 301 Probe Into Germany Drug Pricing, With Sept. 22 Hearing
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 26
Trump Administration Opens Section 301 Probe Into Germany Drug Pricing, With Sept. 22 Hearing
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 26
Summary
June 18 marked the launch of a Section 301 investigation into Germany’s pricing of innovative pharmaceuticals, with the U.S. arguing German policies underpay for U.S.-developed drugs.
The administration says that underpayment shifts research costs onto Americans, noting U.S. patients pay about four times more than Germans for the most expensive medicines while drug development averages $2.7 billion per product.
Sept. 22 is the date set for a public hearing, and the probe is expected to run into the fall before the U.S. decides whether Germany’s practices are unfair.
Tariffs on Germany could follow an adverse finding, a step German officials say could endanger broader U.S.-EU trade talks.
The move extends Trump’s use of trade pressure to challenge foreign drug-pricing systems after the U.K. earlier agreed to pay more for American medicines.