US President Donald Trump Announces 59% Cut In Prescription Drug Prices: Will India Get Affected?

The President of the United States on Monday said that he would slash the prices of prescription drugs by 59%, a day after he unveiled a new policy on pharmaceuticals in the United States.

On his social media platform, Truth Social he wrote in a post, "DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS! Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and all other costs, DOWN. NO INFLATION!!!"

This announcement came at the heels of him planning to sign an executive order intending to reduce US prescription drug prices "almost immediately" by between 30% and 80%.

What Did Trump Say?

According to a Citizen Tribune report, the US President said that he would sign the executive order bringing the new policy into effect at 9:00 am (1300 GMT) on Monday.

He also planned to institute a "MOST FAVOURED NATION'S" policy which highlighted the cost of the drugs sold in the United States to the lowest price paid by other countries for the same drug.

The 'Most Favored Nation' status is a rule of the World Trade Organization, which is aimed at preventing discrimination between a country and its trading partners, levelling the playing field for international trade.

He added that the reduction in the cost of prescription drugs in the US will be counterbalanced by higher costs in other countries.

Will India get Affected?

This decision would include all the countries that the US exports pharmaceutical products to, which do not come under the category of Most Favoured Nations under the World Trade Organisation.

This could further lead to a global price recalibration especially as pharmaceutical giants pressurize lower-cost markets such as India to raise their prices as they will determine prices in the lucrative US market.

While it is possible that there could be an impact of this order on the industry and drug prices in general, it is not certain if the prices of generic manufacturers and exporters will be impacted here in India.

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