The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) called on the United States to avoid imposing broad tariffs on pharmaceutical inputs from Germany.
The NAM argued that Germany’s pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies undervalue U.S. innovation. It argued that higher mandatory discounts, price controls, and restrictive clinical requirements reduce revenues for U.S. manufacturers, depress exports, and limit German patients’ access to new medications.
Therefore, it called on the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to avoid broad tariffs on pharmaceutical inputs, as they could raise costs and disrupt supply chains. Instead, it proposed that the USTR negotiate directly with Germany to improve market access, recognize the value of U.S. R&D, and close the spending gap on innovative medicines.
Pharmaceutical Inputs from Germany
According to the NAM, many countries, including Germany, benefit from U.S. pharmaceutical R&D without paying a fair share for these innovations. The association noted that Germany allocates fewer resources to new, innovative medicines than the United States. In 2023, Germany spent 0.64% of its per capita GDP on these products. In contrast, the United States allocated 1.32% of its per capita GDP.
The NAM added that Germany maintains long-standing government policies, including mandatory reimbursements, that do not adequately value innovation.
Germany exacerbated these policies with the recent passage of the Act on the Stabilization of the Contribution Rate for Mandatory Health Insurance (GKV-BStabG). The GKV-BStabG includes provisions that affect the pricing and reimbursement of innovative medicines.
Specifically, the new law requires manufacturers to provide higher mandatory discounts. Pharmaceutical companies must grant these discounts to German statutory health insurers following reimbursement negotiations.
Innovative Medicines
The legislation will more than double the discount for new medicines, increasing it from 7% to 15.5%. In addition, it will raise the mandatory discounts for new vaccines to 9% starting in January 2027. The law also tightens the price-volume mechanism by raising the discount factor from 1.0% to 1.5%. This adjustment will apply for every 100 million euros in sales above the negotiated threshold, with the aim of securing greater discounts on products that are prescribed more frequently than anticipated.
This new mechanism will have significant implications for medications that offer greater utility and benefit to patients. In the NAM’s view, these unfair policies will negatively impact U.S. manufacturers. The association believes that they will shift the costs of funding innovation even further onto U.S. pharmaceutical companies. Furthermore, it argues that they will deprive these companies of the expected return on investment and depress their pharmaceutical exports to Germany.
Finally, the NAM noted that German patients have limited access to innovative, life-saving medicines. The association attributes this situation to the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), the body responsible for determining drug coverage in Germany. This body requires evidence that a new drug offers additional clinical benefit compared to selected benchmark therapies.
Pharmaceutical Production
In 2025, $97,800 million worth of pharmaceutical products were exported from the United States. Of that total, $10,200 million went to Germany.
U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing supported approximately 1.7 million jobs in the United States in 2023, with an estimated 490,000 jobs related to export sales.
The NAM has members of all sizes, representing all industrial sectors and located across all 50 states. Collectively, manufacturers contribute $2.93 trillion to the U.S. economy and account for nearly 53% of all private-sector research in the nation. In 2025, manufacturers exported $1.7 trillion worth of U.S.-produced goods to global markets.
Medicamentos innovadores
La legislación duplicará con creces el descuento para los medicamentos nuevos, al pasar de 7 a 15.5%. Además, aumentará los descuentos obligatorios para las vacunas nuevas a 9% a partir de enero de 2027. La ley también endurece el mecanismo de precio-volumen, al elevar el factor de descuento de 1.0 a 1.5%. Este ajuste se aplicará por cada 100 millones de euros en ventas por encima del umbral negociado, con el fin de obtener mayores descuentos de los productos que se prescriben con mayor frecuencia de lo previsto.
Este nuevo mecanismo tendrá implicaciones significativas para los medicamentos que ofrecen mayor utilización y beneficio para los pacientes. A juicio de la NAM, estas políticas injustas afectarán negativamente a los fabricantes estadounidenses. La asociación considera que trasladarán aún más los costos de la financiación de la innovación a las compañías farmacéuticas de Estados Unidos. Además, sostiene que privarán a estas empresas del retorno de inversión esperado y deprimirán sus exportaciones farmacéuticas a Alemania.
Por último, la NAM consideró que los pacientes alemanes tienen un acceso limitado a medicamentos innovadores que salvan vidas. La asociación atribuye esta situación al Comité Federal Conjunto (G-BA), organismo encargado de establecer la cobertura de medicamentos en Alemania. Este organismo exige evidencia de que un nuevo medicamento ofrece un beneficio clínico adicional frente a terapias de referencia seleccionadas.
Producción farmacéutica
En 2025, se exportaron 97,800 millones de dólares en productos farmacéuticos desde Estados Unidos. De ese total, 10,200 millones de dólares fueron a Alemania.
La actividad de producción farmacéutica estadounidense sustentó aproximadamente 1.7 millones de empleos en Estados Unidos en 2023, con un estimado de 490,000 puestos relacionados con las ventas de exportación.
La NAM cuenta con miembros de todos los tamaños, pertenecientes a todos los sectores industriales y distribuidos por los 50 estados. En conjunto, los fabricantes aportan 2.93 billones de dólares a la economía estadounidense y representan casi 53% de toda la investigación del sector privado en la nación. En 2025, los fabricantes exportaron bienes producidos en Estados Unidos por 1.7 billones de dólares a los mercados mundiales.