Medical sector falls, Trump toughens stance: Lowering drug prices by 1400% to 1500%

US President Trump said on Monday that his government will significantly reduce drug prices by as much as 1400% to 1500%, and reiterated a tough stance on pharmaceutical prices while also planning to impose higher tariffs on imported drugs. Trump bluntly stated during a press briefing, "We are going to be cutting drug prices massively in the United States." However, Trump's exaggerated statement does not hold up mathematically. Theoretically, if drug prices were to decrease by more than 100%, it would mean that people would actually receive money when purchasing medications. This statement comes after Trump sent formal letters to several pharmaceutical giants about a month ago. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer Inc., Astrazeneca PLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Merck & Co., Novartis AG, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis all received the letters. Trump demanded that these companies must lower drug prices by September 29th and extend Most Favored Nation (MFN) prices to all Medicaid patients in the US. He emphasized in the letter, "The MFN price must be offered for all existing drugs to every single Medicaid patient." He warned that failure to comply would result in his government using "every tool to protect American families from the scourge of high drug prices." Furthermore, earlier this month, Trump revealed in an interview that he plans to impose tariffs on imported drugs, potentially up to 250%, which is the most stringent proposal to date. He explained that tariffs will start at a lower rate and increase to 150% within a year to a year and a half, eventually reaching 250%. Trump said that this move aims to bring back pharmaceutical manufacturing to the US. However, there are doubts about the coherence of his tariff plan. In July of this year, Trump threatened to impose a 200% tariff on imported drugs, but later lowered the proposal. Nevertheless, his administration still insists that these measures are part of a long-term strategy to reduce drug prices and promote domestic production. On Monday, stock prices in the pharmaceutical sector fell across the board, with Johnson & Johnson falling 0.49%, Pfizer Inc. falling 2.86%, Astrazeneca PLC falling 1.62%, Bristol-Myers Squibb falling 1.63%, GlaxoSmithKline plc falling 1.37%, Merck & Co. falling 2.36%, Novartis AG falling 1.53%, Roche falling 1.84%, and Sanofi-Aventis falling 2.38%.