US President Donald Trump has claimed that he forced France and other countries to sharply raise prescription drug prices by threatening sweeping trade tariffs, mocking French President Emmanuel Macron while recounting the episode before Republican lawmakers.
Speaking at a closed-door interaction, Trump said the United States has long subsidised global healthcare, arguing that foreign governments keep drug prices low at the expense of American consumers. He said his “Most Favoured Nation” policy was designed to end this imbalance by tying US drug prices to the lowest rates paid by other developed nations.
Recounting his alleged exchange with Macron, Trump said he demanded that France raise its prescription drug prices because Americans were paying significantly more. According to Trump, Macron initially resisted the proposal. Trump then claimed he issued an ultimatum, warning that France would face a 25 per cent tariff on all exports to the United States, including wine and champagne, if it did not comply.
“He said to me, ‘Donalddd, you have a deal. I would like to increase my prescription drug prices by 200 per cent or whatever. Whatever you want, Donald, please don’t tell the population, I beg you,” Trump told lawmakers, imitating the French president.
Trump mocks Macron: Emmanuel said to me: “Donalddd, you have a deal. I would like to increase my prescription drug prices by 200% or whatever. Whatever you want, Donald, please don’t tell the population, I beg you.” Every country said the same thing. pic.twitter.com/hrAXWkKDD3— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 6, 2026
Trump asserted that France agreed to raise prices from $10 per pill to $30, while drug prices in the United States dropped as a result. He also claimed the tariff he threatened was “42 times more expensive” than the price increase he demanded.
“Every country said the same thing,” Trump added, referring to other nations he claimed to have pressured on drug pricing.
Expanding the claim, Trump said similar resistance from foreign leaders quickly disappeared once trade penalties were mentioned. “Within, I’d say, on average, 3.2 minutes, they were all saying we would be honoured to quadruple our drug prices,” he said. “We would be honoured to quadruple our drug prices, if that’s what you like.”
Trump contrasted his approach with that of former president Joe Biden, saying, “And we have now a favoured nation. You think Biden could do that? I don’t think so.”
The remarks come as Trump pushes his Most Favoured Nation policy, which seeks to lower US prescription drug prices by linking Medicare payments to the lowest prices charged by pharmaceutical companies in other developed countries. Trump has claimed the policy will result in price cuts of “400, 500, and even 600 per cent,” and said reduced prices would be available from January through a new website, TrumpRx.gov.
Neither Macron nor the French government has issued any official response to Trump’s remarks. There has also been no confirmation from French authorities of any decision to raise prescription drug prices, despite Trump’s repeated assertions.
Trump has made similar claims in the past, including during earlier remarks from his Mar-a-Lago residence, where he described threatening tariffs to force compliance on drug pricing.
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