In a speech, former US President Donald Trump claimed he forced French President Emmanuel Macron to raise prescription drug prices. Trump stated he threatened a 25% tariff on all French imports unless France complied.
US President Donald Trump delivered a striking and widely discussed speech to Republican lawmakers in Washington this week, during which he mocked French President Emmanuel Macron and claimed he had forced Paris to significantly hike drug prices by threatening sweeping trade tariffs.
Trump’s remarks, intended to show toughness in negotiations over prescription drug costs, have captured international headlines but have not been backed up by any official response from the French government.
Trump mocks Macron
Speaking at the Kennedy Center, Trump framed his comments within the context of his Most Favoured Nation policy, which aims to lower US prescription drug costs by tying Medicare payments to the lowest prices charged by drug manufacturers in developed nations. Trump argued that the United States has been subsidising global healthcare for years and that foreign countries have benefited from lower drug prices at the expense of American consumers.
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Highlighting his interaction with Macron, Trump said he was told that Americans were paying “14 times” more than French consumers for certain drugs. According to Trump, Macron initially resisted a request to raise prescription drug prices, prompting Trump to issue an ultimatum: agree to US demands or face a 25 per cent tariff on all French imports, including wine and champagne. “Emmanuel said to me, ‘Donald, uh, you have a deal. I would increase my prescription drug prices by 200 per cent or whatever. I would love to do it… it would be such an honour,’” Trump claimed, mocking Macron’s alleged response.
Trump went on to suggest that other world leaders quickly acquiesced when faced with similar tariff threats, saying that within “3.2 minutes” on average, they agreed to “quadruple” their drug prices, and even joked that they said, “We would be honoured to quadruple our drug prices, if that’s what you like.”
Trump also characterised the threatened tariff as “42 times more expensive” than the price increases he was demanding, and claimed that after the agreement with France, French drug prices increased from about $10 per pill to $30 while US prices fell.
Despite Trump’s vivid recounting and mocking tone, neither Macron nor French officials have confirmed any such agreement or tariff ultimatum, and there has been no official French response to Trump’s claims as of yet.
Trump’s speech illustrates his ongoing focus on trade and healthcare issues, as he continues to promote policies intended to recalibrate international drug pricing and leverage US economic power in global negotiations.
