Trump Demands Big Pharma Slash U.S. Drug Prices to Match Overseas Rates

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President Trump took a bold step Thursday, sending letters to 17 of the world’s largest drug companies, ordering them to cut prescription drug prices in the U.S. to the lowest levels found in comparable wealthy countries.

This move is part of the administration’s “most favored nation” strategy, which aims to tie American drug prices to the lowest prices paid internationally — a push to bring down what many see as outrageously high costs for medicines in the U.S.

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Trump insisted drugmakers immediately reduce Medicaid prices on existing drugs and pledge that new drugs won’t cost Americans more than overseas buyers. The White House also plans to use trade tools to encourage other countries to raise their drug prices to U.S. levels — but only if those higher profits abroad go directly into lowering costs here at home.

“If companies refuse to step up,” Trump warned, “the federal government will use every tool available to protect American families from abusive drug pricing.”

The 60-day deadline to comply is on the clock. The letters were sent to pharma giants like Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Eli Lilly, and others.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt unveiled the plan in a briefing, and Trump posted the letters on his Truth Social.

Trump criticized past industry promises as empty, saying they “offered more of the same — blaming others and demanding policies that would hand billions to pharma.” Instead, he wants real relief for American families and an end to what he calls the “free ride” European and other developed countries get from U.S. drug innovation.

The letters also demand drugmakers create direct-to-consumer sales options to cut out middlemen and offer prices similar to what private insurers pay. Some companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have already started selling anti-obesity meds this way, giving uninsured patients access to lower prices.

Trump is ramping up pressure on Big Pharma to slash U.S. drug prices to match those abroad — and isn’t afraid to back it up with trade and regulatory muscle. Watch for a showdown as the 60-day clock ticks down.