President Donald Trump said on 25 Aug. that his administration will “do numbers” on prescription costs, promising to cut U.S. drug prices by 1,400–1,500% and to impose tariffs on medicines “rapidly.” He argued that Americans pay far more than patients abroad, citing an example of a treatment that costs $80 in Germany but $1,300 in the United States. Trump said the initiative would rely on a "favored nations" approach under which the United States would pay no more than the lowest price charged in other developed economies. He called the policy “the most important thing” in the administration’s drug-pricing agenda. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters on 26 Aug. that the government is “deep into” most-favored-nation negotiations with 14 pharmaceutical companies, but he did not specify which firms or provide a timeline for reaching agreements. Economists and industry analysts noted that reducing prices by more than 100% would imply paying consumers to take their medications, calling the president’s figures mathematically impossible. The White House and the Department of Health and Human Services have yet to release details on how the targeted reductions or proposed tariffs would be implemented.