President Trump just issued an executive order to rebalance the global pharmaceutical market — by tying U.S. drug prices to the artificially low, government-set prices in other developed nations.

There’s no question that the current market is imbalanced. American scientists develop two out of every three new medicines worldwide — yet Americans pay more per capita for brand-name drugs than the citizens of any other developed country. As Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently summed it up, “America pays for drugs, and the rest of the world free rides.”

The problem, though, is with the freeriding — not with America’s comparatively free market for medicines. Instead of rewarding foreign moochers by importing their price controls, it would be far better for the government to compel other nations to embrace free-market pricing. That would relieve the burden on Americans while spurring more research investments that lead to lifesaving, economy-growing medicines.

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https://www.bostonherald.com/2025/06/16/global-imbalance-of-drug-prices-a-growing-sickness/