Pharmaceutical industry warns US trade policies are delaying medicines in Australia

Donald Trump’s America first agenda has already impacted the flow of new medicines Down Under, according to Australia’s peak pharmaceutical industry body.

Medicines Australia boss Liz de Somer said a Trump Administration executive order signed earlier this year to reduce high prescription drug prices — known as the “Most Favoured Nation” policy — has prompted a “slow-down”.

The US President introduced the trade policy in May, saying Americans should pay the same low prices that other “freeloading” developed countries pay for the same drugs.

“We are already seeing the impact of these policies, with a slow-down in new medicines coming to Australia,” Ms de Somer said.

“Our members are advising that there is significant scrutiny over new medicines’ launches by their international headquarters due to low prices in Australia.

“They are choosing not to launch new medicines here, or to delay medicines launches.”

It comes after the US President revealed on Truth Social in September that he would also slap a 100 per cent tariff on foreign pharmaceutical companies from October 1 who don’t have a capital investment plan to manufacture in America.

Despite concern expressed by the sector in the lead up to Anthony Albanese’s bilateral with Mr Trump in the White House this week, the Prime Minister didn’t raise the concerns of the pharmaceutical sector with the US President.

“Whilst there have been no public updates on pharmaceutical tariffs following President Trump’s meeting with the Australian Prime Minister, Medicines Australia believes President Trump is likely to turn his attention back to low pharmaceutical prices being paid by other countries around the world,” Ms de Somer warned.

“As Australian published prices of pharmaceuticals are ranked amongst the lowest, Australia will once again be in the spotlight.”

When questioned why the concerns of the pharmaceutical sector weren’t raised in the US talks, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher described the trip as “incredibly successful”.

She vowed there would be continued engagement on the issue but raised that a deal on critical minerals and support for AUKUS had been the Prime Minister’s priority.

“We continue to engage with the US. And we’ll continue to do that on all of those other matters,” Senator Gallagher told reporters on Wednesday.

“I think this was an incredibly successful trip. I think the Prime Minister has gone representing the country in our national interest.

“There will be continued engagement with the US — in a whole number of areas.”

Health Minister Mark Butler had vowed in July that Australia would continue to “press the case” and reiterated Australia’s long-held position that the PBS is “not up for negotiation”.

Under the PBS, the Government negotiates with drug companies to enable Australians to buy life-saving drugs worth thousands of dollars for as little as $31.60 a script.

The Albanese Government has passed legislation to reduce that cost even further to $25 a script from January 1, 2026.

Ms de Somer said patients who relied on Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) already faced long wait-times for drugs to be added to the PBS.

“Currently, only one in four of globally supplied new medicines are listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme or Life Saving Drugs Program,” she said.

“Patients also wait, on average, 466 days between the registration of new medicines in Australia, by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and a PBS listing.”

She said “urgent action” was needed on reforms to Australia’s Health Technology Assessment — which helps governments decide which medicines, treatments, and medical technologies should be funded or subsidised — to help “make the PBS faster, fairer and fit for the future”.

“And to ensure medicines are more appropriately valued, making Australia more attractive for new launches,” Ms de Somer said.

“We must ensure Australian patients have access to the same innovative medicines as other comparable countries.”

Opposition leader Sussan Ley criticised Mr Albanese for missing the opportunity to try to alleviate Australia’s “tariff burdens” by skipping the key trade discussions points.

She also noted the PM’s failure to secure lower tariffs for steel and aluminium exporters, which were targeted with 25 per cent tariffs by the Trump administration in March.

The Liberal Leader said while she welcomed his critical minerals deal and support for the AUKUS pact, she was disappointed Mr Albanese didn’t advocate for industries impacted by the US trade regime.

“There was no conversation yesterday in the Oval Office about relief from tariffs. Nothing about the tariff burden for our steel and aluminium sector,” Ms Ley said on Wednesday.

“The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was able to negotiate those tariffs down by 50 per cent. Our prime minister was unable to do that.

“Now there’s 200,000 jobs relying on those industries here in Australia, and I would like to hear the Prime Minister back in those industries and talk about moves with the US to actually change our tariff burden.”

While steel and pharmaceutical tariff exemption weren’t achieved, Mr Albanese said he did however raise Australia’s blanket 10 per cent levy on Australian goods to the US President during the bilateral.

“Yes, of course I did. The United States has a different position from Australia when it comes to tariffs. I continue and will always put the case for free and fair trade,” he told ABC Breakfast from Washington on Wednesday.

“I’ll always put the case for Australia’s interests to be advanced. That’s my job. But we do so respectfully and diplomatically.

“That’s how you get outcomes. And it is important to recognise that there’s no country in the world has a lower tariff than Australia.

“And so that’s the starting point for the discussions. But we’ll continue to engage and we’ll continue to put our case forward.”

Mr Albanese wrapped up his trip to Washington on Wednesday, telling a BHP event in the US that Australia’s relationship with America had gone “up a notch” after the trip.

There’s potential the PM and Mr Trump could meet again on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC and ASEAN summits in Asia.