USTR initiates investigation into Germany's underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products
The investigation will examine practices that suppress drug prices in Germany, shifting research and development costs to patients in the United States.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has initiated a Section 301 investigation into Germany’s persistent underpayment for innovative pharmaceutical products. Read the Federal Register notice.
This action follows Executive Order 14297, which was issued on May 12, 2025, to address foreign practices that suppress pharmaceutical prices below fair market value. Prior USTR requests for comments in 2025 highlighted how Germany’s policies reduce incentives for pharmaceutical innovation, resulting in U.S. consumers paying approximately 3.9 times as much as consumers in Germany for brand-name drugs and shifting Germany’s fair share of costs onto patients in the United States.
The current investigation focuses on specific mechanisms used by Germany, such as conditioning manufacturers’ price confidentiality on a 9% price discount and additional administrative costs. Additionally, the USTR will review draft legislation introduced by Germany's Ministry of Health in 2026 that would impose an additional mandatory rebate for patented medicines starting in 2027. Under the current proposal, this rebate would begin at a fixed 3.5% rate for the first half of 2027 and would subsequently transition to a variable rate estimated to reach 20% by 2030.
The investigation was initiated on June 18, 2026, and the USTR will open the docket for written comments on June 25, 2026. Written comments and requests to appear at the public hearing must be submitted by August 10, 2026. A public hearing is scheduled for September 22, 2026, with post-hearing rebuttal comments due within seven calendar days of the hearing's conclusion.
Read a related USTR release (June 18, 2026).