TrumpRx Pfizer Deal

The Wall Street Journal reports White House to Announce ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Website

The White House is planning to unveil a direct-to-consumer website for Americans to buy drugs, dubbed TrumpRx, while also announcing that Pfizer plans to lower prices on several of its medications in the U.S., according to people familiar with the matter.

TrumpRx would allow people to pay cash for certain drugs directly from a government website, at a discounted price negotiated by the government. It’s unclear how many drugs would be offered, or whether the website would be useful for the majority of Americans who are already covered by private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid.

Separately, Pfizer is expected to be the first to announce a plan to lower drug costs after President Trump pushed companies for months to lower prices in the U.S. More companies are expected to follow suit.

Trump and Albert Bourla, the chief executive of Pfizer, are set to announce the cost-cutting measure at the White House later today, according to a White House official. Bourla is also expected to announce a $70 billion investment in manufacturing medications in the U.S., according to Pfizer spokeswoman Amy Rose and a White House official.

The official estimated Pfizer’s lowered prices could benefit as many as 100 million patients.

“President Trump is leveraging the power of the federal government to drastically cut drug prices for everyday Americans,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai. “Democrats talked the talk for decades about drug prices, but only President Trump is actually walking the walk.”

Trump last week declared that branded drugs would face 100% tariffs if their manufacturers aren’t building facilities in the U.S. The new investments, along with others in the works that Bourla mentioned in an August earnings call, likely mean the company would be exempt from those tariffs.

Trump called for pharmaceutical companies to participate in a direct-to-consumer drug buying platform, and offer “most favored nation” pricing—commonly understood as prices lower or comparable to those in other developed nations—in a July letter.

The reason drug manufacturing went overseas is US tax law encourages a build it there philosophy.

Trump is using tariffs to bring the manufacturing back to the US instead of fixing broken tax code.

What Accounts for Most of the US Trade Deficit with the EU?

The trade deficit with the EU is not as big as Trump says. And two huge chunks are easily fixable.

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I discussed tax code in my post What Accounts for Most of the US Trade Deficit with the EU?

Ireland the Biggest EU Defict

The largest US deficit with the EU is with Ireland at $86 billion. Germany is in second place at $84 billion.

All of the deficit with Ireland is due to US pharmaceutical companies taking advantage Ireland’s low tax rate. I propose the US adopt a corporate tax rate of 10 percent with 20 percent on foreign profits and this production would return to the US pronto.

Trump can accomplish the same thing, in worse way, via tariffs. Either way, unlike iPhones, this production could easily return to the US.

Poof. Bring pharmaceutical production back to the US and factor in services, and the US trade deficit with the EI would shrink to 74 billion from 236 billion.

Weight Loss Drugs Help Blow Out the US Trade Deficit

Also consider Weight Loss Drugs Help Blow Out the US Trade Deficit

Let’s discuss Ireland, weight loss drugs, and other trade distortions.

The US trade deficit with Ireland for all of 2024 was $87 billion. For the four months through April, the deficit is already $65 billion.

That’s second to China at $88 billion.

Trump’s proposed solution is Tariffs plus TrumpRx.

Well, let’s see how it works.

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