Trump Weekly: White House announces drug pricing deal with Pfizer

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump with this weekly recap compiled by The Fly:

DRUG PRICING DEAL: President Donald Trump announced the “first agreement with a major pharmaceutical company,” Pfizer (PFE), to bring American drug prices in line with the lowest paid by other developed nations, the White House announced. “The agreement will provide every State Medicaid program in the country access to MFN drug prices on Pfizer products, resulting in many millions of dollars in savings and continuing President Trump’s historic efforts to strengthen the program for the most vulnerable. The agreement ensures foreign nations can no longer use price controls to freeride on American innovation by guaranteeing MFN prices on all new innovative medicines Pfizer brings to market. The agreement requires Pfizer to repatriate increased foreign revenue on existing products that Pfizer realizes as a result of the President’s strong America First U.S. trade policies for the benefit of American patients. The agreement requires Pfizer to offer medicines at a deep discount off the list price when selling directly to American patients,” a White House fact sheet stated.

MOSTLY PERFORMATIVE: The timing of the “deal” announced between the U.S. and Pfizer on drug pricing “may have come as a surprise,” but the substance of it didn’t, in the opinion of BofA analyst Tim Anderson, whose view over the last weeks-to-months has been that the drug industry might well escape any real pain when negotiating on issues like “most favored nation” drug pricing. Press releases from the White House and from Pfizer “largely lack specifics, but both read as benign,” adds the analyst, who calls the agreement “a loose collection of measures that likely doesn’t cost Pfizer much, yet still provides the Administration with a political win.” The firm keeps a Neutral rating and $28 price target on Pfizer shares.

OTHER DRUGMAKERS: Trump says other drugmakers to join Pfizer with “most favored nation” prices. Publicly traded drugmakers include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).

TARIFFS ON TIMBER, LUMBER: President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation invoking Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to impose tariffs on imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products. The Proclamation imposes a 10% global tariff on imports of softwood lumber. The Proclamation imposes a 25% global tariff on certain upholstered furniture, which will increase to 30% on January 1. The Proclamation imposes a 25% global tariff on kitchen cabinets and vanities, which will increase to 50% on January 1.
Trading partners who negotiate with the United States to address the threat of wood imports to the national security of the United States may be able to secure an alternative to the pending tariff increases. The Section 232 tariff on subject wood imports from the United Kingdom will not exceed 10%. The combined Section 232 tariff and most-favored nation tariff on subject wood imports from the European Union and Japan will not exceed 15%. Products that are not subject to these Section 232 tariffs will generally be subject instead to reciprocal tariffs. Companies in the space include International Paper (IP), Boise Cascade (BCC), Weyerhaeuser (WY), West Fraser Timber (WFG), UFP Industries (UFPI), Home Depot (HD), and Lowe’s (LOW).

TARIFFS ON MOVIES: President Donald Trump stated in a post to Truth Social, “Our movie making business has been stolen from the United States of America, by other Countries, just like stealing ‘candy from a baby.’ California, with its weak and incompetent Governor, has been particularly hard hit! Therefore, in order to solve this long time, never ending problem, I will be imposing a 100% Tariff on any and all movies that are made outside of the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT” Publicly traded owners of film studios include Comcast (CMCSA), Disney (DIS), Sony (SONY), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), Lionsgate Studios (LION), Paramount Skydance (PSKY), and Netflix (NFLX).

TARIFFS ON ELECTRONICS: The Trump administration is weighing slapping tariffs on foreign electronic devices based on the number of chips in each device, Reuters’ Alexandra Alper reports, citing three people familiar with the matter. According to the plan, the Commerce Department intends to impose a duty on the imported product that is equal to the percentage of the estimated value of the chip content of the device, the author notes. Publicly traded companies in the space include Sony (SONY), Nintendo (NTDOY), Samsung (SSNLF), Asustek (ASUUY), Panasonic (PCRFY), TSMC (TSM), and Foxconn (HNHPF).

FARMER BAILOUT: President Trump is weighing giving at least $10B in aid to U.S. farmers as the agriculture sector warns of economic fallout from his broad slate of tariffs, the Wall Street Journal’s Brian Schwartz, Patrick Thomas, and Natalie Andrews report, citing people familiar with the discussions. The president and his team are considering using tariff revenue to fund a good portion of the aid, the authors note. Publicly traded companies in the space include Andersons (ANDE), Archer Daniels (ADM), Bunge (BG), CF Industries (CF), Compass Minerals (CMP), Intrepid Potash (IPI) and Mosaic (MOS).

SEEKING WINS: Pharmaceutical executives are getting almost daily calls from White House Staff and senior figures at agencies such as the Commerce Department, Dawn Kopecki, Jarrett Renshaw, Ernest Scheyder and Sabrina Valle of Reuters report, citing two sources familiar with the matter. During these calls, the White House asked Eli Lilly (LLY) to produce more insulin, Pfizer (PFE) to sell more of its cancer drug Ibrance and cholesterol drug Lipitor, and AstraZeneca (AZN) to consider a new headquarters in the U.S., the two sources added. Additionally, the Trump administration is pursuing deals in up to 30 industries, with the fast-paced dealmaking meant to deliver political wins for the president before the 2026 midterm elections, the sources added.