Prognosis
Trump’s Canada Drug Import Plan Can’t Happen Without Big Pharma
- Distributors see no incentive to export for fear of reprisals
- Drugmakers, not the plan, would spur Canadian shortages
Photographer: Ariana Lindquist/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to import cheap Canadian drugs overlooks a crucial fact: it can’t happen without the cooperation of major drugmakers, the very industry he’s trying to undercut.
Even as alarm grows in Canada over the prospect of Americans draining their supply of medicines, there’s little reason to believe the U.S. proposal would worsen the country’s drug shortages. But the fear plays into the hands of the powerful drug companies seeking to protect their U.S. profit margins.