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May 13, 2025
Pharmaceutical Pricing, Update On US-China Trade Deal, National Charter Schools Week, Women's Health Week, And Police Week And Peace Officers Memorial Day
On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we honor our brave officers who serve on the front lines to protect our families, safeguard our communities, and shoulder a burden of responsibility that most Americans cannot fathom. This week and always, we honor the courageous men and women serving in law enforcement and memorialize those who sacrificed their lives defending the thin blue line.
A nation in chaos ceases to be a citadel of liberty. Tragically, the previous administration allowed lawlessness to permeate our country, making it harder for our law enforcement officers to do their jobs. Their reckless, soft-on-crime policies emboldened criminals and thugs; wreaked havoc on the sanctity of our homes, businesses, and public spaces; instilled fear; and jeopardized public trust.
As your 47th President, I am fulfilling my promise to make America safe again by reclaiming sovereignty on the border and restoring the rule of law in communities nationwide. We will utilize every available means to equip and train law enforcement, retain qualified officers, and recruit on the basis of meritocracy.
The oath to serve and protect comes with extraordinary risk and sacrifice, and we are indebted to those who choose this righteous profession. That is why I have asked the Congress to codify my Executive Order mandating the death penalty for the murder of a police officer sending an unequivocal message that barbaric acts of violence and blatant disregard for the lives of our Nations heroes will not be tolerated and to pass a crime bill with enhanced protections for police officers.
I stand in steadfast solidarity with those who defend our freedoms and the families who love and support them. We pray for those who grieve the fallen and pledge that their lives, legacies, and sacrifices will forever be remembered by our grateful Nation.
By a joint resolution approved October 1, 1962, as amended (Public Law 87-726, 76 Stat. 676), and by Public Law 105-225 (36 U.S.C. 136-137), the President has been authorized and requested to designate May 15 of each year as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week in which it falls as Police Week.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 15, 2025, as Peace Officers Memorial Day and May 11 through May 17, 2025, as Police Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also call on the Governors of the States and Territories and officials of other areas subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Peace Officers Memorial Day.
During National Womens Health Week, we promote and support the health and well-being of our Nations mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and friends.
From my first day in office, my Administration has worked to protect women and girls from gender extremism and has brought common sense and biological reality back to America. Moreover, the Make America Healthy Again Commission was established to address the root causes of our Nations health crisisfrom poor nutrition and chronic diseases to preventable conditions issues impacting women across the nation. By advancing food transparency, promoting physical fitness, and restoring health education, we are working to give women, and all Americans, stronger futures and better quality of life.
My Administration is confronting the high cost of healthcare, which places a tremendous toll on American families. We are working to improve price transparency, stop surprise billing, and ensure patients have clear information about their coverage before receiving care. Historic steps have been taken to lower prescription drug prices, including capping the cost of insulin and expanding access to low-cost generics. By holding providers accountable and putting patients first, we are lowering costs, improving care delivery, and restoring fairness to the American healthcare system.
This week, we reaffirm our commitment to improve womens health so that they may live fuller and healthier lives, ensuring that all generations of American women thrive and continue to drive the success of our Nation.
In a mean-spirited break with the past quarter-century, the Biden administrations Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel A. Cardona and his political allies have not just ignored charter schools week, but done their darndest to smother the celebration supplanting it with Teacher Appreciation Week, which earned a presidential proclamation (sans all recognition of charters).
Adding insult to injury, Dr. Cardona, in his pro-teacher pronouncements for the week, praised TV shows that belittle charters, while for her most recent podcast, the secretarys ally, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten interviewed the star of said show, Sheryl Lee Ralph, whose state senator husband is heavily backed by teacher union funds in Philadelphia and to no ones surprise, is opposed to charter schools.
Ember Reichgott Junge, the legislator who authored Minnesota's 1991 first-in-the-nation charter school law, says that chartering succeeded because it was a bipartisan initiative from the middle of the political spectrum that arose from visionary citizens outside the political system.
Shes right. But sadly, the bipartisan, grassroots reform that is charter schools (and a movement that probably leans more left than right these days) is, for the moment at least, not quite so bipartisan and is simply being ignored by the Biden Administration.
Why? you might ask.
The answer: politics and the corrupting influence of teachers unions.
From the earliest days of our Republic, great schools and teachers have fortified the American mind and emboldened generations of students to achieve the American Dream. This National Charter Schools Week, my Administration renews its commitment to defend American charter schools, advance school choice, and protect the sacred right of every parent to be the steward of their childrens education.
Since the first American public charter school opened in 1992, charter schools have provided childrenespecially those in low-income and urban areaswith the opportunity to grow, succeed, and fulfill their God-given potential, regardless of their zip code or financial situation. Today, there are more than 8,000 operational charter schools in America empowering parents to pursue the right educational fit for their children. Charter school students are outperforming their peers in math and readingand in the overwhelming majority of states, charter school enrollment growth is exceeding school-aged population growth.
As President, I am steadfastly committed to promoting choice, opportunity, and innovation in American classrooms. Since taking office, I proudly signed an Executive Order to expand educational freedom and opportunity for families. It is the official policy of my Administration that parents have the fundamental right to oversee the education, upbringing, and moral formation of their children.
Last month, I also took action to create new educational and workforce development opportunities for our Nations youth in the realm of artificial intelligence, so that our children will be equipped with the skills they need to be leaders in the digital age. Additionally, I signed an order directing the Secretary of Education to take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Educationhanding education authority back to the States, where it belongs. Americas schools should be shining examples to the rest of the world, and my Administration will never waver in its commitment to empowering parents and renewing safety, security, and sanity in our classrooms.
This National Charter Schools Week, we celebrate the tremendous accomplishments of charter school students, parents, teachers, and advocates. We renew our pledge to support freedom in education in all its forms, whether through homeschooling or charter, public, or religious schools. Above all, we remember that great schools are the gateway to a great, hopeful, and prosperous American future.
I suspect we will be seeing the White House issue many articles and statements as the Trade Deal talks continue with China. The May 12, 2025 articleART OF THE DEAL: U.S., China Ink Initial Trade Dealsummarizes:
President Donald J. Trump and his administration have secured another good deal for the American people an initial trade deal with China that reduces tariffs, ends retaliation, and sets Americans on the path for truly free, fair trade.
Its the second significant trade breakthrough of the past week following President Trumps landmark trade deal with the United Kingdom and comes as President Trump enacts his transformational vision for liberating Americans from the unfair trade practices that have gripped workers and businesses for decades.
At a press conference in Geneva, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer laid out the details of the initial agreement:
Secretary Bessent: We have reached an agreement on a 90-day pause and substantially moved down the tariff levels both sides, on the reciprocal tariffs, will move their tariffs down 115%.
Ambassador Greer: Both the Chinese and the United States agreed to work constructively together on fentanyl and theres a positive path forward there, as well.
Secretary Bessent: The upside surprise for me from this weekend was the level of Chinese engagement on the fentanyl crisis in the United States. They brought the Deputy Minister for Public Safety and he had a very robust and highly detailed discussion.
Ambassador Greer: We are going to have our economy continue taking off as we put structure around these negotiations and get global trade into a better place.
Secretary Bessent then made the rounds on television to inform the American people of the landmark deal:
On negotiations: It was always respectful. We had the two largest economies in the world. We were firm and we moved forward We came with a list of problems that we were trying to solve and I think we did a good job on that.
On stopping precursors of fentanyl from China: This is a priority for President Trump and, indeed, the whole administration Hundreds of thousands of Americans die every year and I think that we saw here in Geneva that the Chinese are now serious about assisting the U.S. in stopping the flow of precursor drugs.
On non-tariff barriers: Weve had free trade, and as you said, that has not worked for the American people. Theres something called the China shock, which has gutted our manufacturing sector They subsidize labor, they subsidize capital goods, and they have exported that to us and to the rest of the world. We have put up tariffs to push back on that, so it will be a matter of what is the equilibrium level on tariffs and also getting China to open their markets for American companies.
On supply chains: Bringing back our important strategic industries can be a result of tariffs, but its also a result of national will so this administration is running full speed to make sure that what we saw during COVID never happens again.
On past agreements: In January 2020, President Trump produced a template we had an excellent trade agreement with China, and the Biden Administration chose not to enforce it. The Chinese delegation basically told us that once President Biden came into office, they just ignored their obligations.
Section 1. Background. In Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025 (Regulating Imports With a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits), I declared a national emergency arising from conditions reflected in large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, and imposed additional ad valorem duties that I deemed necessary and appropriate to deal with that unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security and economy of the United States. Section 4(b) of Executive Order 14257 provided that [s]hould any trading partner retaliate against the United States in response to this action through import duties on U.S. exports or other measures, I may further modify the [Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States] to increase or expand in scope the duties imposed under this order to ensure the efficacy of this action.
In Executive Order 14259 of April 8, 2025 (Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports From the Peoples Republic of China), and Executive Order 14266 of April 9, 2025 (Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates To Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment), pursuant to section 4(b) of Executive Order 14257, I ordered modifications of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) to raise the applicablead valorem duty rate for imports from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) established in Executive Order 14257, in recognition of the fact that the State Council Tariff Commission of the PRC announced that it would retaliate against the United States in response to Executive Order 14257 and Executive Order 14259.Section 4(c) of Executive Order 14257 provided that, [s]hould any trading partner take significant steps to remedy non-reciprocal trade arrangements and align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters, I may further modify the HTSUS to decrease or limit in scope the duties imposed under this order. Since I signed Executive Order 14266, the United States has entered into discussions with the PRC to address the lack of trade reciprocity in our economic relationship and our resulting national and economic security concerns. Conducting these discussions is a significant step by the PRC toward remedying non-reciprocal trade arrangements and addressing the concerns of the United States relating to economic and national security matters.
Pursuant to section 4(c) of Executive Order 14257, I have determined that it is necessary and appropriate to address the national emergency declared in that order by modifying the HTSUS to suspend for a period of 90 days application of the additional ad valorem duties imposed on the PRC listed in Annex I to Executive Order 14257, as amended by Executive Order 14259 and Executive Order 14266, and clarified in the Presidential Memorandum of April 11, 2025 (Clarification of Exceptions Under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as Amended), and to instead impose on articles of the PRC an additional ad valorem rate of duty as set forth herein, pursuant to the terms of, and except as otherwise provided in, Executive Order 14257, as modified by this order.
Sec. 2. Suspension of Country-Specific Ad Valorem Rate of Duty. Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 14, 2025, all articles imported into the customs territory of the United States from the PRC, including Hong Kong and Macau, shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent subject to all applicable exceptions set forth in Executive Order 14257 and the Presidential Memorandum of April 11, 2025. This ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent reflects (i) the modification of the application of the additional ad valorem rate of duty on articles of China (including articles of Hong Kong and Macau) set forth in Executive Order 14257, by suspending 24 percentage points of that rate for an initial period of 90 days, and the retention of the remaining ad valorem rate of 10 percent on those articles pursuant to the terms of said order; and (ii) the removal of the modified additional ad valorem rates of duty on those articles imposed by Executive Order 14259 and Executive Order 14266.
Sec. 3. Tariff Modifications. In recognition of the intentions of the PRC to facilitate addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 14257, the HTSUS shall be modified as follows:Effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 14, 2025:
(a) heading 9903.01.25 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting the article description and by inserting Articles the product of any country, except for products described in headings 9903.01.269903.01.33, and except as provided for in heading 9903.01.34, as provided for in subdivision (v) of U.S. note 2 to this subchapter . . . . . . in lieu thereof;
(b) heading 9903.01.63 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting 125% each place that it appears and by inserting 34% in lieu thereof;
(c) subdivision (v)(xiii)(10) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting 125%, and by inserting 34% in lieu thereof; and
(d) heading 9903.01.63 and subdivision (v)(xiii)(10) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS are hereby suspended for a period of 90 days beginning at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 14, 2025.
Sec. 4. De Minimis Tariff Decrease. To ensure that the reduction in duties pursuant to section 2 of this order is made fully effective and the purpose of Executive Order 14257, as amended, is not undermined, I also deem it necessary and appropriate to:
(a) decrease the ad valorem rate of duty set forth in section 2(c)(i) of Executive Order 14256 of April 2, 2025 (Further Amendment to Duties Addressing the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the Peoples Republic of China as Applied to Low-Value Imports), as modified by Executive Order 14259 and Executive Order 14266, from 120 percent to 54 percent;
(b) retain in effect the per postal item containing goods duty of 100 dollars in section 2(c)(ii) of Executive Order 14256, as modified by Executive Order 14259 and Executive Order 14266, that has been in effect since 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 2, 2025, unless and until otherwise modified by a subsequent executive action, notwithstanding the increase contemplated effective June 1, 2025, pursuant to Executive Order 14256, as modified by Executive Order 14259 and Executive Order 14266; and
(c) modify the HTSUS, effective with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on May 14, 2025, as follows:
(i) subdivision (w) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting 120 percent, and by inserting 54 percent in lieu thereof; and
(ii) subdivision (w) of U.S. note 2 to subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTSUS shall be amended by deleting , and before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025. For merchandise entered for consumption on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on June 1, 2025, the applicable specific duty rate is $200 per postal item containing such goods.
Sec. 5. Implementation. The Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the United States Trade Representative, as applicable, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing, and the Chair of the United States International Trade Commission, are directed to take all necessary actions to implement and effectuate this order, consistent with applicable law, including through temporary suspension or amendment of regulations or notices in the Federal Register and adopting rules and regulations, and are authorized to take such actions, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA, as may be necessary to implement this order. Each executive department and agency shall take all appropriate measures within its authority to implement this order.
Purpose. The United States has less than five percent of the worlds population and yet funds around three quarters of global pharmaceutical profits. This egregious imbalance is orchestrated through a purposeful scheme in which drug manufacturers deeply discount their products to access foreign markets, and subsidize that decrease through enormously high prices in the United States. The United States has for too long turned its back on Americans, who unwittingly sponsor both drug manufacturers and other countries. These entities today rely on price markups on American consumers, generous public subsidies for research and development primarily through the National Institutes of Health, and robust public financing of prescription drug consumption through Federal and State healthcare programs. Drug manufacturers, rather than seeking to equalize evident price discrimination, agree to other countries demands for low prices, and simultaneously fight against the ability for public and private payers in the United States to negotiate the best prices for patients. The inflated prices in the United States fuel global innovation while foreign health systems get a free ride. This abuse of Americans generosity, who deserve low-cost pharmaceuticals on the same terms as other developed nations, must end. Americans will no longer be forced to pay almost three times more for the exact same medicines, often made in the exact same factories. As the largest purchaser of pharmaceuticals, Americans should get the best deal.
Policy. Americans should not be forced to subsidize low-cost prescription drugs and biologics in other developed countries, and face overcharges for the same products in the United States. Americans must therefore have access to the most-favored-nation price for these products. My Administration will take immediate steps to end global freeloading and, should drug manufacturers fail to offer American consumers the most-favored-nation lowest price, my Administration will take additional aggressive action.
REDUCING DRUG PRICES FOR AMERICANS AND TAXPAYERS: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to bring the prices Americans and taxpayers pay for prescription drugs in line with those paid by similar nations.
The Order directs the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to take action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut market prices and drive price hikes in the United States.
The Order instructs the Administration to communicate price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to establish that America, the largest purchaser and funder of prescription drugs in the world, gets the best deal.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services will establish a mechanism through which American patients can buy their drugs directly from manufacturers who sell to Americans at a Most-Favored-Nation price, bypassing middlemen.
If drug manufacturers fail to offer most-favored-nation pricing, the Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) propose rules that impose most-favored-nation pricing; and (2) take other aggressive measures to significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs to the American consumer and end anticompetitive practices.
GETTING A BETTER DEAL FOR AMERICANS: President Trump is once again taking action to keep pharmaceutical manufacturers from charging Americans high drug prices while giving steep discounts to other wealthy nations.
According to recent data, the prices Americans pay for brand-name drugs are more than three times the price other OECD nations pay, even after accounting for discounts manufacturers provide in the U.S.
The United States has less than five percent of the worlds population, yet funds roughly 75% of global pharmaceutical profits.
Drug manufacturers discount their products to gain access to foreign markets and then subsidize those discounts through high prices charged in Americain essence, Americans are subsidizing drug-manufacturer profits and foreign health systems, despite drug manufacturers benefiting from generous research subsidies and enormous healthcare spending by the U.S. Government.
In his first term, President Trump took historic action to keep Medicare and seniors from paying more for drugs than economically comparable countries, which the Biden Administration rescinded before it could take effect.
Instead of fixing this problem, the Biden Administrations greatest achievement was to negotiate prices that were, on average, 78 percent higher than in 11 comparable countries as part of Bidens effort to beat Medicare.
DELIVERING ON PROMISES TO PUT AMERICAN PATIENTS FIRST: President Trump is delivering on his promise to once again put America first by furthering efforts to get American patients and taxpayers a fair deal for prescription drugs.
This Order builds on actions from President Trumps first term to make progress on reducing price disparities at home and expands those efforts by including Medicaid in addition to Medicare.
President Trump recently signed an Executive Order to take additional action to lower drug prices, including by providing massive discounts to low-income patients for lifesaving medicines, facilitating importation programs, and increasing the availability of generic and biosimilar medicines.
President Trump is also working to make drug prices radically transparent, as he recently signed an Executive Order to build on his historic price transparency efforts undertaken during his first term.
President Trump has been relentless in his effort to address the unfair and outrageous prices Americans pay for prescription drugs:
President Trump: In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism aboard [abroad] with skyrocketing prices at home. So we would spend tremendous amounts of money in order to provide inexpensive drugs to another country. And when I say the price is different, you can see some examples where the price is beyond anything four times, five times different.
Those are some of the exact words used by Googles censors, aka 'Orwelliancontent police,' in describing many of our controversial stories.Stories later proven to be truthful and light years ahead of the mainstream media. But because we reported those 'inconvenient truths' they're trying to bankrupt ANP.
