Trump Reaches Agreements with Pharma Companies to Lower Drug Prices

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly:DRUG PRICES:U.S. President Donald Trumpnine new agreements with major pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices for Americans in line with the lowest prices paid by other developed nations, known as the most-favored-nation, or MFN, price. The nine manufacturers include Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. The agreements reduce prices on drugs that treat numerous costly and chronic conditions, including type two diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis B and C, human immunodeficiency virus, and certain cancers, among others. The agreements will provide every State Medicaid program in the country access to MFN drug prices on products made by the nine companies. The agreements ensure foreign nations can no longer use price controls to free ride on American innovation by guaranteeing MFN prices on all new innovative medicines the nine companies bring to market, according to the White House. The agreements require the nine companies to repatriate increased foreign revenue on existing products that they realize as a result of the President's strong America First U.S. trade policies for the benefit of American patients. The agreements also require the nine companies to offer medicines at a deep discount off the list price when selling directly to American patients through TrumpRx.SANCTIONS:Following the Trump administration's approval of a weapons sale to Taiwan, the Chinese government imposed sanctions on 20 U.S. defense companies and 10 of their executives, with targets including Northrop Grumman, Boeing'sdefense unit, and founder of Anduril Industries Palmer Luckey, Stu Woo of The Wall Street Journal report. Beijing intends to freeze the assets of the entities, ban them from Chinese transactions, and prohibit the executives from entering China.TARIFFS: The Trump administration has concluded a semiconductor trade investigation citing harm from China's industry dominance but opted to delay new tariffs, setting an initial zero percent rate on Chinese chip exports for at least 18 months, The New York Times' Ana Swanson. The move reflects efforts to preserve a fragile trade truce with China following earlier tariff escalations and retaliatory measures. Publicly traded companies in the space include AMD, Intel, Marvell, Microchip, Micron, Nvidia, Qualcommand Texas Instruments.CANNABIS RESCHEDULING:President Trump has instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to finalize a decision on marijuana rescheduling by the end of January, Anthony Martinelli of The Marijuana Herald, citing sources close to the president. An executive order signed by Trump last week directs Bondi to "take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process related to rescheduling marijuana to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act as quickly as possible, in accordance with federal law." Federal law requires that any change to marijuana's scheduling be formally completed through the Department of Justice. Publicly traded companies in the space include Aurora Cannabis, CV Sciences, Canopy Growth, Cronos Group, Goodness Growth, Green Thumb Industries, IGC Pharma, Tilray, Trees Corporationand Trulieve Cannabis.TRUMP CLASS OF NAVY BATTLESHIPS:President Trump on Monday announced plans to build a new fleet of Navy battleships, anchoring what he called the Pentagon's "Golden Fleet," CBS News' Kathryn Watson. The president said he approved plans to begin constructing "two brand-new, very large, largest we've ever built, battleships." He later said he expects to build a total of 10 ships in short order, and ultimately 20 to 25. He made the announcement flanked by renderings of ships that were referred to as "Trump class." Shares of Huntington Ingallstraded up following the news.NEW YORK TIMES:President Trump, in a social media, said, "The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation. Their Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior, writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way, must be dealt with and stopped. THEY ARE A TRUE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE! Thank you for you attention to this matter."