Washington [US], May 13: US President Donald Trump on May 12 signed an executive order aimed at reducing prescription drug prices in the US to levels seen in other high-income countries. The reduction in drug prices that Mr. Trump proposed before signing the order was between 30% and 80%, according to Reuters.
The United States is the world's top payer for many prescription drugs, often nearly three times higher than other developed nations. Trump said on May 11 that he wanted to close that gap, but did not offer specifics on how.
This is not the first time Mr Trump has tried to lower drug prices in the US. During his first term in office in 2017-2021, Mr Trump announced a similar proposal to cut drug prices in the US, but his plan failed in the face of strong opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. Last month, Mr Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering drug prices by giving states more power to shop for lower prices overseas and improving the price negotiation process, according to AFP.
In another development, The Hill reported on May 11 that the Trump administration had removed Shira Perlmutter from her position as head of the U.S. Copyright Office. A few days earlier, Trump had removed Carla Hayden from her position as head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office. Hayden was the first woman and first African American to serve as Librarian of Congress.
Perlmutter and Hayden have both faced scrutiny from a conservative nonprofit, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF), which called for Perlmutter and Hayden to be removed late last month, according to The Hill.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
