15 Aug Op-Ed: Trump attacks Russia’s powerful pharmaceutical empire and economy
By,
Leonardo Morales, Senior Fellow, MSI²
India has become a lifeline for the Kremlin, and President Donald J. Trump is pressuring Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the head of the Oval Office is attacking the powerful pharmaceutical empire in the United States.
Two crucial issues are on President Donald J. Trump’s agenda: a radical reduction in the prices of medicines and treatments in the United States and ensuring that India does not undermine Washington’s strategies against Russia to finally end the war in Ukraine.
On August 7, the tariffs imposed by the White House on countries that refused to negotiate with the United States went into effect. Many were happy with the tariffs they must pay and chose to comply.
The agreement reached by President Trump and his negotiating team with the European Union, which includes the purchase of $750 billion in oil, natural gas, and other fuels, put Russia in a difficult position for the first time after it decided to invade Ukraine.
So much so that the US president confirmed a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15 in Alaska, the Russian leader called two of his main allies (China and India), apparently to coordinate a response to Washington’s pressure.
Without initiating sanctions and on the same date as the White House’s 10-day deadline, Putin received Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in his Kremlin office. The two spoke for nearly three hours, and both Moscow and Washington described the meeting as “very productive,” demonstrating the effectiveness of President Trump’s firm stances and actions in adverse situations.
“I will be meeting with President Putin very soon. It would have been sooner, but I assume there are security measures to take,” Trump said during a trilateral summit with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who had just signed a memorandum of understanding.
The news comes after Putin’s nearly three-hour talks in Moscow with Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff.
Despite the sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration and the European bloc itself, the European Union imported more than 52 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in 2024. Purchases of liquefied natural gas from Moscow reached record levels that year.
Among the largest importers of Russian gas are Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
For its part, in 2024, the EU also purchased 710,000 metric tons of oil and oil products from Russia. Despite lower imports than in pre-war years, Moscow remains a major energy supplier to Europe. For these reasons, the Kremlin reacted immediately to the historic US-EU agreement.
India in Washington’s crosshairs
On the other side of the geopolitical ring is India, a historic trading ally of Russia and China.
Why is India now in President Trump’s crosshairs?
Over the past 10 years, the mainstream American liberal press has made it seem like this country is a “transcendental and irreplaceable” US trading partner. It is more so for India than for Washington, at least until now.
Last year, Indian exports to the US reached $87 billion; however, the reverse flow represented $41 billion in goods and another $42 billion in services.
In total, bilateral trade between the US and India is around $200 billion, while India enjoys a $44 billion trade surplus with North America.
All data comes from the Office of the US Trade Representative.
“India has not been a good trading partner because they do a lot of business with us, but we don’t have the same volume of business with them. We agreed to a 25% tariff, but I think I’m going to increase that substantially. They buy large quantities of Russian oil and resell it at a high profit,” Trump said in a recent interview with CNBC.
The president has just imposed an additional 25% tariff, which excludes products already subject to a 50% tariff, such as steel, aluminum, automotive parts, and vehicles.
The measure takes effect in less than three weeks, and its central objective is to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine, which the presidential decree describes as an “extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
This is in addition to the 25% tax that came into effect on August 7. In total, Indian exports have been taxed at 50%.
A Lifeline for Russia
India has substantially contributed to becoming the lifeline for Moscow’s oil sales.
Of the 7 million barrels of crude oil produced by Russia per day, India buys 2 million barrels per day, the second largest consumer of Russian oil after China, according to the latest official statistics published by The New York Times.
But there is more to the oil trade between India and Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, took the opportunity to denounce in a Telegram message the presence of “Indian components in Russian drones” that are used “on the war front and against the civilian population.”
India’s purchases represent almost 30% of total Russian crude oil exports, at a price different from the world market. India saved $25 billion in 2024 by purchasing Russian crude oil.
With adjusted prices, the three largest buyers of Russian oil are, in this order: China, India, and Turkey.
Since the alleged European Union boycott of Moscow following the invasion of Ukraine, China has been the main buyer of Russian energy, with approximately $219.5 billion in oil, gas, and coal, followed by India, with $133.4 billion; and Turkey, with $90.3 billion. Before the war, India imported very little Russian oil.
This indicates that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lifeline during the war with Ukraine has undoubtedly been India, the main reason why Trump has blacklisted the country, with the aim of cornering Putin into signing a peace agreement and leaving Ukraine.
In June 2025 alone, Russia earned $12.6 billion from its crude oil sales, despite the battery of sanctions and financial and trade restrictions imposed by the previous Biden administration and the European Union. In other words, the Russian economy hasn’t even noticed that it is under a supposed international embargo.
The Russian economy grew 4.3% last year, reaching $2.37 trillion in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2023, the figure was between 3.5% and 3.8%, according to the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank, demonstrating an upward projection without a significant direct impact from the sanctions. However, it faces an inflation rate of 9.4% and internal labor tensions due to the wear and tear of the war.
The White House’s tariffs go beyond the relevant strategy of a new world trade order. They also represent the Achilles’ heel for the United States in many countries’ renewed geopolitical and military strategies.
And as President Trump has reiterated, America First and Make America Great Again are not populist campaign slogans, but rather well-conceived platforms for achieving all the objectives of the so-called “golden age” of the United States.
Therefore, ending the war in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world are fundamental guidelines in Trump’s presidential agenda, which gave Putin a 10-day ultimatum to end the war or face severe sanctions, which extend to all countries that trade with the former Soviet republic.
Fighting and Tariffs
So far, both Ukraine and Russia have hindered definitive progress toward ending the war, something that has made the President quite uncomfortable.
When reporters asked Witkoff what his message to Moscow would be and whether Russia can avoid sanctions, he replied: “Yes, of course, if it reaches an agreement to stop people from dying unnecessarily,” the Oval Office leader replied.
The war continues to take up significant time and strain on an issue he hoped to resolve within two or three weeks of coming to power. But it has dragged on for six months, with no immediate solution in sight.
Despite US pressure, the fighting continues.
On the same day of the meeting in the Kremlin, Ukrainian authorities reported the deaths of two people and a dozen others injured due to Russian bombing in the Zaporizhia region.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the interception of 51 Ukrainian drones between August 5 and 6.
The Russian army fired 6,297 drones at Ukraine in July, a record since the invasion began in 2022, according to figures provided by Kyiv.
Trump has shifted from gentle diplomacy with Putin to strategies of force and warnings of imminent sanctions that would impact the economy and the production of weapons and ammunition.
Nearly 60 countries have reached agreements with the US or have complied without complaint with the US administration’s trade tariffs. Others, such as India, Switzerland, Canada, and Mexico, are still seeking a trade pact.
Switzerland, with 39% tariffs on its exports, 60% of which belong to pharmaceutical products, is seeking an urgent agreement with Trump, who announced he could impose up to 250% on imported medicines within one or two years.
Mexico, which wants to negotiate an agreement with Trump, is currently enjoying a grace period granted to President Claudia Sheinbaum, as Mexico is a priority trading partner and neighbor of the US. Canada, with 35% tariffs, says it will continue to discuss possible alternatives to lower these tariffs. Brazil will have to pay 50% due to its political harassment.
Trump attacks the pharmaceutical empire
But among the most significant points on Trump’s current agenda is the price of all medicines that are imported or manufactured, mostly in the US, with raw materials from abroad, and which are ultimately sold to Americans at exorbitant prices.
Over the past 30 years, Americans in particular have suffered like no one else from the exorbitant prices of medicines, treatments, and health insurance.
In many cases, “the value of the product exceeds the price of the same medicine or treatment by up to 10 to 15 times the price in any other industrialized country.” “This is inconceivable,” the White House said in a statement.
Americans, who represent 5% of the global population, have been the ATM of pharmaceutical and insurance companies. They pay 75% of the pharmaceutical industry’s profits, and no other president, except Trump himself in his first term, has radically opposed this empire.
Big Pharma and pharmaceutical companies have systematically financed campaigns at all levels in both political parties (Republican and Democratic) to avoid regulations and reforms, and to lobby for large price increases with little federal restraint.
Therefore, Trump has used his presidential power above interests and bureaucracy and is addressing the problem with the appropriate vision: a serious national crisis in the healthcare system. He has already proposed an initial reduction of 59%, but is seeking reductions of 200% and more. And to that end, he has warned that he will initially authorize massive imports from Canada and other countries at a fraction of the cost of the drugs currently sold in the US.
Cancer treatment in the US costs between $10,000 and $12,000, while in Europe, the same treatment costs between $2,000 and $2,500. Insulin without medical coverage costs $300, and in Germany it costs $30. And so the list goes on.
Between the sky-high cost of health insurance, from Obamacare to the rest, American patients have become victims of Big Pharma, hospitals, clinics, and insurers.
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), more than 100 million Americans and almost 30% of households have medical debt, but the figure seems questionable and could be higher. Many have had to go into extreme debt to afford expensive health insurance and expenses for drugs or treatments.
More than two-thirds of these people feel their lives have become a nightmare, with no access to credit or loans due to enormous health debt, making it impossible for them to buy a home or start a business, for example.
President Trump is determined to firmly attack one of the various aspects of the hardships facing tens of millions of people, who live to pay for shelter and the ever-increasing costs of the controversial healthcare system.
Trump warned major pharmaceutical companies that if they do not lower the abusive drug prices for Americans, they will face serious consequences.
In letters to 17 major pharmaceutical companies, Trump called for joint work with his administration to establish unavoidable changes within 60 days. They have until September 29 to commit to doing so.
“If they refuse to act, we will deploy every legal and other tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.”
The ultimatum
The White House resident signed an executive order to complete the digitalization of the healthcare system and facilitate rapid patient access, in addition to seeking the most effective solutions within the healthcare system—which has been questioned for decades.
The so-called digital health ecosystem involves using apps to allow patients to deposit their personal information and medical records in centralized banks for quick access.
Trump has asked some 60 technology and artificial intelligence companies to collaborate to complete the project as quickly as possible, which helps monitor and diagnose chronic diseases.
The White House is addressing the price issue from both within and outside the US.
The Republican leader said in early July that he would “impose a 200% surcharge if production is not repatriated to the United States.”
“Initially, we’re going to put a small tariff on pharmaceuticals, but in a year, a year and a half, at most, it will go up to 150% and then 250%, because we want pharmaceuticals to be manufactured in our country,” Trump told CNBC.
Tariffs on the pharmaceutical industry are at the center of negotiations between Switzerland and the United States.
Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter and her finance minister, Guy Parmelin, are now trying to lower the 39% tariff, much higher than the 15% applied to European Union products.
Trump does not seem satisfied with Keller-Sutter’s intentions.
The president “is very kind, but she didn’t want to listen. So far, they have paid almost no tariffs. We have a $41 billion deficit, and they want to pay 1%,” Trump insisted during the interview with CNBC.
“They get rich off the pharmaceutical industry, and they manufacture our medicines in China, Ireland, and other places,” complained the president, who is unlikely to budge much when it directly concerns the financial and physical health of Americans.
Sources: Daily News, AFP, reports from the White House and the Department of Commerce, and The Washington Post.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²).