Trump Drug Deals Offered Tariff Shields, Overseas Price Hikes in Pfizer and Lilly Pacts
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 19
Trump Drug Deals Offered Tariff Shields, Overseas Price Hikes in Pfizer and Lilly Pacts
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 19
Summary
FOIA-released documents show the Trump administration’s drug-pricing agreements with Pfizer and Eli Lilly included undisclosed promises to shield them from some tariffs and encourage higher prices abroad.
The heavily redacted contracts also show key terms were still unresolved when Trump publicly celebrated the deals, while HHS pledged broad confidentiality and to take actions needed to carry them out.
Public Citizen, which sued for the records, said the omissions make it impossible to judge savings for taxpayers or patients and is challenging the administration’s redactions in court.
The administration, Pfizer and Lilly say the deals lowered U.S. prices and must stay partly confidential to protect commercially sensitive information and ongoing negotiations with other drugmakers.
Both agreements run through Jan. 20, 2029, tying a signature Trump midterm message on drug costs to deals whose benefits, durability and international fallout remain under scrutiny.