Trump Weekly: Generics to be excluded from pharma tariff plan

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:

TRUMP THREATENS “HOSTILE” CHINA WITH “MASSIVE” TARIFF HIKE:  In a post to Truth Social on Friday, President Donald Trump stated: “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China. Nobody has ever seen anything like this but, essentially, it would ‘clog’ the Markets, and make life difficult for virtually every Country in the World, especially for China. We have been contacted by other Countries who are extremely angry at this great Trade hostility, which came out of nowhere. Our relationship with China over the past six months has been a very good one, thereby making this move on Trade an even more surprising one. I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time, starting with the ‘Magnets’ and, other Elements that they have quietly amassed into somewhat of a Monopoly position, a rather sinister and hostile move, to say the least. But the U.S. has Monopoly positions also, much stronger and more far reaching than China’s. I have just not chosen to use them, there was never a reason for me to do so – UNTIL NOW! The letter they sent is many pages long, and details, with great specificity, each and every Element that they want to withhold from other Nations. Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so. The Chinese letters were especially inappropriate in that this was the Day that, after three thousand years of bedlam and fighting, there is PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. I wonder if that timing was coincidental? Dependent on what China says about the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out, I will be forced, as President of the United States of America, to financially counter their move. For every Element that they have been able to monopolize, we have two. I never thought it would come to this but perhaps, as with all things, the time has come. Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration.”

PHARMA TARIFF PLAN: The Trump administration isn’t planning to impose tariffs on generic drugs, narrowing the scope of pharmaceutical levies, The Wall Street Journal’s Gavin Bade reports. The decision reverses a campaign pledge and follows internal debate regarding potential price increases or drug shortages from tariffs. “The administration is not actively discussing imposing Section 232 tariffs against generic pharmaceuticals,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. 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).

CLEAN ENERGY FUNDING: The White House is weighing canceling an additional $12B in funding for clean energy projects beyond what it announced a week ago, Semafor’s Tim McDonnell reports, citing a list of targeted projects. The so-called “kill list,” as it was referred to by a source who reviewed it, would amount to an escalation of the Trump administration’s attacks on clean energy, as well as a sign that the White House is using the current government shutdown as a pretext for accelerating its broader policy agenda, the author notes. Publicly traded companies in the space include GE Vernova (GEV), Eversource (ES), NextEra Energy (NEE), Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP), Array Technologies (ARRY), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), Emeren (SOL), Enphase Energy (ENPH), FTC Solar (FTCI), First Solar (FSLR), JinkoSolar (JKS), Maxeon Solar (MAXN), Shoals Technologies (SHLS), SolarEdge (SEDG), SunPower (SPWR) and Sunrun (RUN).

STAKE IN TRILOGY METALS: U.S. President Donald Trump approved the appeal of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, directing his Administration to promptly issue authorizations necessary for the establishment of the Ambler Road Project. This project will provide road transportation access to the Ambler Mining District. In addition, the U.S. government is announcing a partnership with Trilogy Metals (TMQ), investing $35.6M to support mining exploration in Alaska’s Ambler Mining District. This investment makes the U.S. government a 10% shareholder in Trilogy Metals and includes warrants to purchase an additional 7.5% of the company.

TRUMPRX: Retail pharmacies and prescription drug savings site GoodRx (GDRX) are in discussions with the Trump administration about joining its TrumpRx website, indicating an expansion beyond the early description of it as a link to drugmakers’ direct discounts, Reuters’ Deena Beasley reports. Pharma companies, including Pfizer (PFE) and Amgen (AMGN) are offering to sell some brand-name medicines directly to consumers at the negotiated prices they get from insurers, the author says. Some say they plan to work with TrumpRx, driven in part by President Trump’s threats of harsh tariffs on drugmakers that don’t lower prices and boost U.S. manufacturing, the author says, noting the site is due to launch in 2026. Other publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).

Commenting on Reuters’ news, BofA highlights that the firm doesn’t have “a strong view at this time” on the potential upside/downside from TrumpRx. The Trump administration is putting immense pressure on manufacturers and PBMs to shift completely away from list prices and toward net prices and “the popping of the gross to net bubble is a negative for GoodRx’s original business model,” the analyst tells investors. The firm, which argues that GoodRx’s future success will depend on its ability to navigate this “rapidly evolving market,” maintains an Underperform rating on GoodRx shares.

RARE EARTH EXPORTS: China tightened its rare earth export controls on Thursday, saying it planned to limit exports to overseas defense firms and semiconductor users and adding five rare earth elements to its list, Reuters reports. The world’s largest rare earth producer also added dozens of pieces of refining technology to its control list and announced rules that will require compliance from foreign rare earth producers who use Chinese materials. The new curbs come weeks ahead of a scheduled face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, the publication adds.

FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC: Major banks are competing for lead roles in the potential IPOs of Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC), which could be among the largest offerings ever, The Wall Street Journal’s Corrie Driebusch, Gina Heeb, and AnnaMaria Andriotis report. Bankers are navigating the unpredictable nature of the Trump administration and the complexities of taking government-backed entities public, according to the report, which adds that before the government shutdown, the plan was to select the lead banks imminently and kick off the process before the end of the year, but bankers and lawyers are now skeptical of the timeline. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC).