Trump Trade: U.S. confirms agreement with U.K. on pharmaceutical pricing

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PHARMA PRICING: The Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Health and Human Services issued statements announcing an agreement in principle on pharmaceutical pricing between the United States and the United Kingdom. In the historic U.S.-U.K. Economic Prosperity Deal, President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer agreed to address long-standing imbalances in U.S.-U.K. pharmaceutical trade by improving the overall environment for pharmaceutical companies operating in the United Kingdom. The EPD also secured continued investment by U.K. pharmaceutical companies in the United States, further strengthening American leadership in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing.

“President Trump is the first American President to work with U.S. trading partners to ensure fair payment internationally for innovative pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients. For too long, American patients have been forced to subsidize prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries by paying a significant premium for the same products in ours,” said Ambassador Greer. Pursuant to the terms of the pharmaceutical pricing agreement in principle announced today, the United Kingdom will reverse the decade-long trend of declining National Health Service expenditures on innovative, life-saving medicines, and increase the net price it pays for new medicines by 25%.

Furthermore, the United Kingdom will ensure that higher prices for new medicines are not materially eroded by a demand for portfolio-wide concessions under the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth or other rebate schemes. In fact, the United Kingdom has committed that the repayment rate owed by companies under the current VPAG scheme will decrease to 15% in 2026 and remain at or below that level for the duration of the scheme. In exchange for these and other commitments, the United States has agreed to exempt U.K.-origin pharmaceuticals, pharmaceutical ingredients, and medical technology from Section 232 tariffs and will refrain from targeting U.K. pharmaceutical pricing practices in any future Section 301 investigation for the duration of President Trump’s term. Further, the United States will work to ensure that U.K. citizens have access to the latest pharmaceutical breakthroughs. Publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).

FED CHAIR: President Donald Trump said he has decided on his pick for the next Federal Reserve chair and expects his nominee to deliver interest-rate cuts, Bloomberg’s Maria Paula Mijares Torres and Josh Wingrove report. “I know who I am going to pick, yeah,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington, without naming his choice. “We’ll be announcing it.” Trump’s chief economic adviser, Kevin Hassett, is seen as the likely choice to succeed current Fed chief Jerome Powell, according to people familiar with the matter.

TRUMP MEDIA, TRUMP TOKEN: Since Trump’s inauguration, shares of Trump Media (DJT) have fallen 75% while the digital “meme coins” named for Trump and Melania Trump are down 86% and 99%, respectively, Jack Pitcher of The Wall Street Journal reports. These Trump-related stocks and digital tokens have been hit harder by a slump affecting the priciest and most-speculative corners of the market.

UNCONVENTIONAL FRAC CONTRACT: National Energy Services Reunited (NESR) announced the celebratory signing of its recently-announced unconventional frac contract, as part of the Saudi-US Investment Forum 2025 and His Royal Highness’ delegation visit to President Trump, in Washington D.C. on November 19th. NESR’s unconventional contract award was part of the various agreements that collectively totaled more than $30B in value. NESR previously disclosed multiple billions in contract value for its winning position in the Jafurah frac tender, which is expected to drive significant business growth over the five-year term of the contract. At the event, NESR engaged with Aramco and several Chief Executives from some of world’s largest companies, in addition to delegates from both the United States and Saudi Arabia.