Trump vows 30–80% cut in US drug prices in ‘most consequential’ executive order

He criticised pharmaceutical companies for blaming the disparity on research and development costs, arguing that American consumers have been unfairly burdened for years.

US President Donald Trump on May 11 announced plans to sign what he called the 'most consequential executive order in US history,' aiming to reduce prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices in the United States by 30 percent to 80 percent.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the price cuts would take effect “almost immediately,” citing decades of frustration over why American consumers pay significantly more for medications than those in other countries.

“For many years, the world has wondered why prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals in the United States were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation,” Trump wrote. “Sometimes being five to ten times more expensive than the same drug, manufactured in the exact same laboratory or plant, by the same company.”

He criticised pharmaceutical companies for blaming the disparity on research and development costs, arguing that American consumers have been unfairly burdened for years.

“It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing,” Trump said. “The pharmaceutical companies would say, for years, that it was research and development costs, all of which were borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, alone.”

The president said the new policy would implement a “Most Favoured Nation” pricing model, ensuring that the U.S. pays no more than the lowest price charged for the same medication anywhere in the world. He claimed the move would “bring fairness to America” and would also lead to higher drug prices in other countries to close the global pricing gap.

The announcement follows a recent Politico report suggesting that Trump is considering reviving a proposal from his previous term, which aimed to tie U.S. drug prices to lower rates paid by other countries.

While details of the executive order are expected to be released soon, Trump said the policy marks a long-overdue correction to what he described as a “rigged system.”