Washington has opened a Section 301 trade investigation into Germany over what it calls 'persistent underpayment' for innovative medicines, a move that could end in tariffs on German pharmaceutical exports.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced the probe on 18 June 2026, arguing that low German drug prices push American patients into funding a disproportionate share of global research costs. The case is the first time the Trump administration has turned its drug-pricing agenda into a formal trade enforcement action against a single European nation.
