USTR Announces Investigation of Germany’s Unfair Pharmaceutical Pricing
The U.S. is the global leader in pharmaceutical research and development, and foreign countries have been taking advantage of this investment by not paying their fair share of those costs. On June 18, 2026, the Trump administration took a step in the right direction to resolve this problem when the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to determine if Germany’s pharmaceutical price controls cause the country to not pay its fair share for drugs. This investigation follows through on President Trump’s May 12, 2025, Executive Order 14297 that the USTR “take all necessary and appropriate action” to address actions by foreign countries that have “the effect of forcing American patients to pay for a disproportionate amount of global pharmaceutical research and development, including suppressing the price of pharmaceutical products below fair market value in foreign countries.”
In a press release announcing the investigation, USTR Jameson Greer said, “President Trump has made clear that American patients should not be shouldering a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development. I am particularly concerned with news that Germany is fast-tracking legislation that would further reduce its spending on innovative pharmaceuticals. This is a serious step backwards at a time when our trading partners need to step up and start paying their fair share to fund innovative pharmaceutical research and development.”
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has previously urged President Trump and his administration to use leverage during trade negotiations and force foreign countries to pay their fair share for pharmaceuticals. CAGW’s March 20, 2026, blog post, “The Only Good MFN is no MFN” is one of many such publications. In 1990, $16.7 billion was invested in biopharmaceutical research, with European countries contributing 50.9 percent and the U.S. contributing 40.8 percent. By 2017, $95.7 billion was invested in research and development, with the U.S. spending 58.3 percent and Europe contributing 41.7 percent.
The investigation into Germany is the second step the Trump administration has taken in 2026 to address the unequal foreign investment in pharmaceuticals. On April 2, 2026, the U.S. and the United Kingdom announced a landmark agreement on pharmaceutical pricing under which the U.K. will double the amount it spends on pharmaceutical investments. The agreement with the U.K. was a win for taxpayers and patients, and the USTR should aim for a similar achievement with Germany.
U.S. leadership in pharmaceutical research and development helps patients by giving them greater access to innovative cures than patients in foreign countries, who often have to wait or never receive new drugs. The Trump administration should be applauded for its agreement with the U.K. and its investigation of Germany and should push for more countries to pay their fair share for innovative cures and treatments.
