President Trump issued on 12 May an executive order promising “aggressive action” if foreign countries and manufacturers do not lower prices for prescription drugs in the U.S.

In a move that the FDA said “marks a new era in FDA enforcement,” the agency has announced its intent to expand the use of unannounced inspections at foreign manufacturing facilities that produce foods, essential medicines and other medical products intended for U.S. consumers and patients.

On 21 April, the National Medical Products Administration and the General Administration of Customs jointly announced the launch of a pilot programme for the use of imported calculus bovis in the production of proprietary Chinese medicines in 12 provincial-level regions, namely, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shandong, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Fujian and Guangxi. Under this programme, calculus bovis sourced from countries or regions not subject to mad cow disease import bans and compliant with China’s customs quarantine and pharmaceutical quality inspection requirements will be permitted for trial use in the manufacturing of proprietary Chinese medicines. The programme will continue for two years and the use of imported calculus bovis will be progressively expanded nationwide after two years upon evaluation. Applicants for the import of calculus bovis should be drug marketing authorisation holders for proprietary Chinese medicines containing calculus bovis. Detailed requirements are outlined to ensure the quality and safety of calculus bovis, the traceability of imports, and the integrity of processing and production procedures.

President Trump on 5 May issued two executive orders aimed at promoting the domestic production of critical medicines and improving the safety and security of biological research. In addition, the president has instructed senior officials to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 percent tariff on foreign movies.