Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has stated that the country’s heavily subsidized medicines scheme will “not be negotiated” amid American tariff threats. US pharmaceutical companies have complained about the impact of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on their profits. Both the Labor Party and the Coalition have defended the scheme and announced plans to further publicly subsidize medicines.

Albanese stopped short of saying he trusts Donald Trump when asked about the escalating trade tensions but emphasized that the government will not compromise on the PBS. He stated that America’s tariffs on goods, including medicines and meat, would harm both the US and Australia’s interests.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) submitted a complaint claiming that Australia, Canada, and Japan have “discriminatory” pricing policies that undervalue American innovation and threaten American competitiveness, jobs, and exports. They specifically criticized the pricing and additional data requirements of the PBS.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/20/albanese-says-pbs-not-up-for-negotiation-after-us-pharma-complains-to-trump-about-scheme