France, others in talks with US to avoid trade probes into drug pricing – POLITICO

“I said, ‘Hey, we have a 301 waiting in the wings,’” Greer said. He stressed, however, that the U.S. would “rather have an agreement.”

The U.S. has already secured a commitment from the United Kingdom to pay more for drugs. In April, the two governments reached a deal that will see Britain raise pharmaceutical spending, as well as scale back the rebates the National Health Service can claw back from drug manufacturers.

The Trump administration is hoping the threat of higher tariffs will prompt other governments to follow.

“We’re having conversations with the Germans right now, which are challenging, but we’re having them,” Greer said. He added that the U.S. has had talks on the issue with French officials as well as other governments.

“I’d rather not do 301s on them, but we will if we have to,” Greer said. Greer also listed Australia as another country that could be a target for a Section 301 probe into drug pricing.

Announcement

“We just want to have appropriate burden sharing,” Greer said.