Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

Trump's Call To Pharma Firms To Move Back To US Could Hit Indian Exporters

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 Feb, 2017 12:01 PM
    Foreshadowing "Buy American" moves that could affect the largest market for Indian pharmaceutical companies, US President Donald Trump told drug makers on Monday to bring back manufacturing to the United States.
     
    "I want you to manufacture in the United States," he told leaders of seven major pharmaceutical companies. "I want you to move your companies back into the United States."
     
    To facilitate this, he said: "We're going to be lowering taxes, we're going to be getting rid of regulations that are unnecessary."
     
    India exported $6 billion worth of drugs to the US in 2015 and restrictions on pharmaceutical imports and manufacturing abroad could impact the industry in India.
     
    Trump also hinted at the possibility of ending a multi-layered pricing system for medicines by which rates are often set lower for drugs sold abroad than in the US.
     
    "Our trade policy will prioritise that foreign countries pay their fair share for US manufactured drugs so our drug companies have greater financial resources to accelerate the development of new cures," he said. "And I think it's so important. Right now, it's very unfair what other countries are doing to us."
     
     
    The meeting was part of a series of meetings he has been holding with leaders of different sectors to get them to increase jobs and investment in the US to further his campaign promises. The CEOs of Amgen, Novartis and Eli Lily were among those who attended.
     
    Trump emphasised deregulation of the strict controls on marketing medicines in the US.
     
    "We're going to be cutting regulations at a level nobody's ever seen before," he said. "And we're going to have tremendous protection for the people, maybe more protection."
     
    He criticised the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval process for new drugs saying that he was troubled that a terminally-ill patient could not get a vital medicine because of the approval delays.
     
    An Indian American, Balaji Srinivasan, who is a technology and biotechnology entrepreneur and a critic of the functioning of the FDA, is among those being considered to head the agency.
     
    "A lot of the companies have moved out, they don't make the drugs in our country any more," Trump said. "A lot of that has to do with regulation, a lot of it has to do with the fact that other countries take advantage of ous with their money and their money supply and devaluation."
     
     
    Trump also took aim at big pharmaceutical companies over their pricing policies. "we have to get lower prices, we have to get even better innovation, he said.
     
    For this he said that he would favour smaller companies. "I'll oppose anything that makes it harder for smaller, younger companies to take the risk of bringing their product to a vibrantly competitive market," he said. "That includes price-fixing by the biggest dog in the market, Medicare, which is what's happening. But we can increase competition and bidding wars, big time."
     
    Medicare is the government health insurance programme for senior citizens.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Fort Lauderdale Airport Gunman In Custody, Officials Say

    Fort Lauderdale Airport Gunman In Custody, Officials Say
    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Official: Fort Lauderdale airport shooter a passenger on Canadian flight, checked gun in bag, loaded it in bathroom

    Fort Lauderdale Airport Gunman In Custody, Officials Say

    5 Dead, 8 Injured After Shooting At Fort Lauderdale Airport In Florida

    5 Dead, 8 Injured After Shooting At Fort Lauderdale Airport In Florida
    Authorities say five people were killed and eight were wounded after a lone suspect opened fire at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, international airport.

    5 Dead, 8 Injured After Shooting At Fort Lauderdale Airport In Florida

    Founder of India’s Top LGBTQ Magazine, Gaylaxy, Bags Sher Vancouver's Youth Leadership Award

    Founder of India’s Top LGBTQ Magazine, Gaylaxy, Bags Sher Vancouver's Youth Leadership Award
    For the LGBTQ community in India, 2016 was a brutal year that witnessed defeat of many attempts to revoke Section 377 of India’s penal code.

    Founder of India’s Top LGBTQ Magazine, Gaylaxy, Bags Sher Vancouver's Youth Leadership Award

    US Army Allows Turbans, Beards, Hijabs In Military

    US Army Allows Turbans, Beards, Hijabs In Military
    The US Army has issued a new regulation under which servicemen who wear turbans, hijabs or beards can now be enrolled in the military, making the force more inclusive of minority religions and cultures.

    US Army Allows Turbans, Beards, Hijabs In Military

    Cop Body-Slammed Teen Girl To Floor. Shocking Video Goes Viral

    Cop Body-Slammed Teen Girl To Floor. Shocking Video Goes Viral
    As two girls fought in the cafeteria area of a North Carolina high school, another student raised her cellphone to make a video. She sparked a furor when she captured a police officer picking up and slamming down a student to the floor.

    Cop Body-Slammed Teen Girl To Floor. Shocking Video Goes Viral

    Donald Trump Appoints Raj Shah To White House Post As His Deputy Assistant

    Donald Trump Appoints Raj Shah To White House Post As His Deputy Assistant
    US President-elect Donald Trump has appointed an expert on strategic communications and political research, Raj Shah, as his deputy assistant and research director on the White House staff.

    Donald Trump Appoints Raj Shah To White House Post As His Deputy Assistant