Posted on 08/20/2026 8:33:32 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
At a conference I attended recently in DC, I had the chance to show a lot of my colleagues around the downtown monuments. For them, many from other countries, seeing the Lincoln, the Washington, the Capitol, was once in a lifetime – for me, it was Tuesday.
At one point, a German in the group – fatigue in his voice – asked me, “Tell me… How can Americans keep voting for Trump?” The term Trump was shorthand for Americans’ embracing nationalism and rejecting globalism, which seems oh-so backwards to our European cousins. I think he expected me to dance around his condescending question; instead I responded, “How can Americans not vote for Trump?”
Globalism, I explained, is a luxury that the rest of the world enjoys at the expense of the American taxpayer. The international “free” trade – thanks to our Navy – is very expensive indeed (almost $380 billion for 2027). Americans pay for 31 percent of the United Nations’ budget. Virtually all of our NATO allies have historically refused to pay their share – Germany is bad, but Luxembourg is the worst offender even though the microstate is the richest nation on Earth.
And these are just the official ways that American generosity subsidizes the modern global order. Meanwhile, the average American voted for Trump because he or she couldn’t afford housing, higher education, retirement, or healthcare.
Healthcare is particularly something that our European cousins love to condescendingly cluck their tongues at us about. That behavior isn’t just irritating; it’s infuriating. Europeans don’t pay less for medicine because they’re better than Americans; Europeans pay less for medicine because they mooch off Americans.
But luckily, many in the government are moving in the right direction. Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) has introduced legislation, the Use Sovereignty to Reduce Rx Act, to finally end the practice of other countries leeching off American taxpayers to get artificially low prices for their medicine.
This legislation follows up on the President’s 2025 executive order about “Most Favored Nation” status regarding unfair pricing. Whereas the EO targeted domestic companies that charge Americans unfair prices compared to overseas, this bill targets foreign governments.
The bill’s language reads that “pharmaceutical price controls in foreign markets distort global trade flows and competition by depressing the prices of innovative drugs and exploiting pharmaceutical innovations researched and developed in the United States.”
Innovative scientists in the US have long done all the research that benefits the rest of the world. Foreign countries have imposed strict price controls that transfer the overwhelming cost of research and development to American consumers. We’ve long known this in general, but thanks to a recent report by the US Trade Representative, now we have the specifics about Germany’s “persistent underpayment” on our life-saving drugs.
Thanks to government mandates, U.S. net prices are up to four times higher than the prices for which Germans pay!
Sheehy’s bill would create a Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator at USTR to increase oversight of foreign drug-pricing policies. Every year, this office would release an annual report to Congress on the practices of high-income countries relating to the trade of American-developed pharmaceutical products. Then the USTR would submit to the Ways & Means and Finance committees plans to respond to offending high-income countries, which may include investigation under title III of the Trade Act of 1974.
This act empowers the federal government to impose tariffs or even sanctions. For those still absurdly waving the flag of “free trade!”, please remember: so-called free trade is very expensive for the US taxpayer.
Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) are cosponsors while Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington (TX-19) is leading the charge on companion legislation in the House.
This legislation is the latest in a series of Republicans realizing that we need to reassess how to pivot after decades of funding globalization. In the post-Cold War era, America offered a “new world order” of peace and partnership, which has not turned out as we had hoped it would. While our critics may criticize this 21st-century nationalism – either out of bigotry or simple greed – they offer no alternative solution.
America cannot continue to fund international organizations like NATO and the UN to our own detriment. We can’t pay for medicine for the rest of the world while healthcare at home has become completely unaffordable. Germany is the third-largest economy in the world – they can afford to pay their fair share.
This is wonderful news, and long, long overdue. It’s criminal that the legacy media will ignore or suppress so many of the innovations this Admin is churning out.
I’m still not tired of winning.
Perhaps:
US PATENT APPLICATION
....
I agree that in no case shall any US payor shall have to pay me or an assignee of mine 110% more than any other payor in a country in which has an internationally competitive motor vehicle manufacturer. If such an event occurs, my patent rights shall be void.
10% more
“Americans pay for 31 percent of the United Nations’ budget”
Most people around the world get good education, health care, drive/ride motor vehicles, surf the Internet, use cellphones, etc.
The percentage should be around 9%.
The European governments and the Canadian government have mandated drug prices that represent a small markup over direct manufacturing costs
The US consumer pays for all the RD plus a huge mark up.
It costs over a billion dollars to bring a new drug to market in the US. If a drug is working overseas it should get automatic approval here .
How dare he write that!
Luxembourg is a beautiful place! I'll always regret having blinked and missing it while taking a train ride through it!
Regards,
No, most people don’t because most live in Third World countries with at best basic education and healthcare. They mostly walk or use public transport because they can’t afford cars.
Yep. I’ve said this for years. I saw it first hand when I worked for Medtronic for a year. Its the exact same thing with medical devices. American companies pay massive R&D costs. That cost has to be passed on in prices. The socialized schemes in various countries - especially though not exclusively European - then interfere with the market by capping prices way below what it would cost to recoup those R&D costs. So the companies then have no choice but to raise prices in America to allow them to pay for the R&D.
We could play that game too. Pick some European designed/made products and then artificially cap the price they may charge for them in our market. What’s that? I’m sorry. You can’t charge more than $100K for a Porsche/Ferrari/Lamborghini/Maseratti. Luxury handbags, shoes and dresses? Nope! You won’t be allowed to charge more than $100 bucks for any of those anymore.
I wonder how much they would like that. Probably about as much as we like them doing the same to American medical device and pharma companies.....or specifically targeting American big tech companies with regulations, investigations, fines, etc etc.
This article is garbage on so many levels. For brevities’ sake i’ll concentrate on the alleged German underpayment for drugs.
Germany, and many other countries, refuse to pay the pharma industries often extortionate prices.They set up a commision to calculate fair prices for every new drug, with higher prices for new drugs with added therapeutical benefits.The pharma concerns can take it or leave it, and guess what, they take the oh so low prices.
The US on the other hand doesn’t dare to regulate drug prices. That’s why the pharma companies basically charge whatever they want, see for example what Martin Shkreli did with Daraprim.Trump’s 2025 executive order changed very little. And in all likelihood not much will change in the future. Pharma lobbyists and Pharma PACs will see to that.
But misery loves company and so, to distract voters from the inflated drug prices in the US, Messrs. Sheehy, Todd and McCormick propose a bill to force foreign countries to pay just as much, because somehow, as the author says, they up to now mooched off American taypayers.
The American taypayers have been fleeced by the pharma companies, not by other countries. If this idiotic bill should go through nothing will change about that.
Or do you for one minute believe pharma is going to reduce prices in the US just because they make more money overseas?
The sooner we dump European scammers and lowlifes - the better. I don't want to defend them, visit them or have them here. And for God's sake will someone please get the UN (a 'dictator protection' agency) out of our country?
“most people don’t because most live in Third World countries with at best basic education and healthcare”
https://worldscorecard.com/world-facts-and-figures/income-levels-by-country-2025/
Low-income economies are mainly in Africa. Lower-middle-income economies will have large percentages without cars.
Do you think people in India typically get no treatment for their cancer?
Low-income countries have schools with teachers and kids too. Is there anything that would prevent the teacher from teaching the kids? Blackboards and chalk are affordable in Africa and India. They don’t have the luxury of paying for four years of group hatred study though.
Take a look at the size of the Hispanic construction workers. They didn’t grow up with food insecurity.
I see the stuff my neighbors put out for trash collection. It is often truly trash.
Most pharmaceutical profits goes to advertising not R&D
From my health care proposal:
I would allow Federal PPACA exchanges to offer Interstate Class Drug Plans,
exempt from state control that cover under contract at the time of policy issue at least:
1. 80% of all FDA-approved recombinant drugs by key active entity
2. 80% of all key FDA breakthrough chemical active entities under patent as of January 1 of the coverage year
used in a drug approved by the FDA by August 1 prior
3. 80% of all key chemical active entities under patent as of January 1 of the coverage year
used in a drug approved by the FDA by August 1 prior
4. 90% of all WHO “essential” drugs
Interstate Class Drug Plans that don’t meet all those minimums could be sold off the exchanges.
This system would allow for genuine negotiation between drug plans and drug companies. Drug plans would have an incentive to try to buy drugs from drug companies and drug companies would have an incentive to make deals to make sales.
Plan formulary drugs would be supplied on an all-the-doctors prescribe basis. The co-pays on plan formulary drugs would be roughly equal to mere manufacturing cost.
Non-formulary drugs might be covered by timed vouchers with plan-set amounts ($700 plan pay, 30-day supply, TV_Drug_32, to be dispensed by plan-listed pharmacy in June 2026). Voucher plans would not have fixed premiums.
Voucher issuance would require individual approval by a plan (or third party) reviewer. The prescriber would normally have to fill out an online request questionnaire.
The copper, bronze and Interstate Class Drug Plans would not be subsidy eligible.
Germany, and many other countries, refuse to pay the pharma industries often extortionate prices.
What do you call "extortionate"? Allowing the pharma/medical device company to actually recover their R&D costs?
They set up a commision to calculate fair prices for every new drug, with higher prices for new drugs with added therapeutical benefits.
The market determines a "fair" price, not some commission. Who determines "therapeutical" benefits? OH! I see! The very same socialists who are setting the price and who have every incentive to rip off the foreign pharma/medical device company.
The pharma concerns can take it or leave it, and guess what, they take the oh so low prices.
We can play the exact same game with various European goods. Porsche will take it or leave it. Those French and Italian fashion houses will take it or leave it. The American commission on "fair" luxury goods prices determines the price now. No longer will European companies be allowed to charge "extortionate" prices for their goods in America. That seems reasonable and reciprocal.
The US on the other hand doesn’t dare to regulate drug prices.
Correct. America has a free market economy.
That’s why the pharma companies basically charge whatever they want, see for example what Martin Shkreli did with Daraprim.
They charge what the market will bear in the US. Its more than they actually want to charge but they have to recover their huge R&D expenses and then earn a decent return for their shareholders. If they do not, nobody will invest money in R&D and the pipeline of new drugs and medical devices.....ie progress.....will be shut down.
Trump’s 2025 executive order changed very little. And in all likelihood not much will change in the future. Pharma lobbyists and Pharma PACs will see to that.
Trump's executive order reduced the prices pharma and medical device companies can charge in the US. The result will be EITHER the US will start exerting leverage over foreign countries for their unfair trade practices in drastically limiting the prices for American drugs and medical devices OR the return on investment for pharmaceuticals and medical devices will not be there and progress will come to a grinding halt.....for everybody. Worldwide. People will simply invest their money elsewhere so they can get a decent return.
But misery loves company and so, to distract voters from the inflated drug prices in the US, Messrs. Sheehy, Todd and McCormick propose a bill to force foreign countries to pay just as much, because somehow, as the author says, they up to now mooched off American taypayers.
What you actually mean is the US federal government will either start forcing foreign countries to end their unfair trade practices or the US will finally start retaliating by restricting their goods' access to the American market or by requiring them to slash the prices they can charge for their products in the American market. The days of foreign socialist welfare schemes pushing all the costs for medical research off onto Americans need to come to an end.
The American taypayers have been fleeced by the pharma companies, not by other countries. If this idiotic bill should go through nothing will change about that.
Wrong. American taxpayers and consumers have been fleeced by foreign countries with their unfair trade practices. This has been happening for decades and decades. The administration is finally calling that out and will force them to stop doing that or will retaliate against their goods in America.
Or do you for one minute believe pharma is going to reduce prices in the US just because they make more money overseas?
Yes. If they are able to divide the R&D costs over vastly more consumers, the cost per consumer can go way down. No doubt there will be a lot of consumer and government watchdogs who will call it out and apply pressure in the event that foreign consumers (ie mostly the socialist medicine schemes in various countries) do actually start paying fair prices for new drugs and medical devices).
The key word is profits. There is no profit until R&D costs are recovered. Those costs are staggering. Most of the price for new drugs and medical devices goes into paying off the R&D costs.
Singapore just pulled ahead of Luxembourg as the richest country.
Two questions:
1) Are you a government K-12 school teacher?
2) Have you taken Calculus 1 and passed it with a C or better?
( Just wondering.)
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