WASHINGTON—The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, today welcomed the Trump administration’s efforts to lower the price of prescription drugs by addressing unfair trade practices that harm the U.S. life sciences industry. ITIF released the following statement from its president, Robert D. Atkinson:
The Trump administration is right to push back on unfair foreign drug pricing policies, which allow other nations to free-ride on U.S. life science innovation. Through trade manipulation and government controls on pricing, other countries receive the benefits of better treatments without paying their fair share to support expensive research and development, which ultimately limits global drug and device innovation. These practices also limit the prices U.S. firms receive for their exports, inflate the U.S. trade deficit in pharmaceuticals, and stifle U.S. jobs.
Strong action is needed to preserve America’s leadership in the life sciences industry, which employs 1.2 million U.S. workers.Leveling the global playing field should be a top priority.
According to a recent ITIF report, the U.S. life sciences industry has lost ground over the past decade largely due to aggressive competition from foreign nations that employ both fair and unfair practices to gain a competitive edge. Manipulation of the global trading system through foreign pricing policies contributes at least 40 percent of the pharmaceutical industry’s trade deficit.
