May 12 2025

Markets Surge as US and China Announce Temporary Tariff Rollback, Negotiations Continue

Pharma Stocks Dip as Trump Pledges "Most Favored Nation" Pricing for Prescription Drugs

House GOP Unveils Medicaid Plan Focusing on Work Requirements, Avoiding Deepest Cuts

Hamas Pledges Release of Last American Hostage in Gaza Amid Cease-Fire, Aid Talks

Ukraine's Zelensky Proposes Direct Putin Meeting in Turkey, Upping Stakes in Peace Push

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Markets Surge as US and China Announce Temporary Tariff Rollback, Negotiations Continue

The United States and China said Monday they reached an agreement to temporarily reduce the punishing tariffs they have imposed on each other while they try to defuse the trade war threatening the world’s two largest economies. In a joint statement, the countries said they would suspend their respective tariffs for 90 days and continue negotiations they started this weekend. Under the agreement, the United States would reduce the tariff on Chinese imports to 30 percent from its current 145 percent, while China would lower its import duty on American goods to 10 percent from 125 percent. “We concluded that we have a shared interest,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at a news conference in Geneva where U.S. and Chinese officials met over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling,” he said. China said it will suspend or revoke countermeasures adopted in retaliation for escalating tariffs. In early April, the Chinese government had ordered restrictions on the export of rare earth metals and magnets, critical components used by many industries, including automakers, aerospace manufacturers and semiconductor firms. Global markets jumped on the announcement. The benchmark index in Hong Kong surged 3 percent, about the same amount as S&P 500 stock futures.

NYT

Pharma Stocks Dip as Trump Pledges "Most Favored Nation" Pricing for Prescription Drugs

A. WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would sign an executive order to cut prescription prices to the level paid by other high-income countries, an amount he put at 30% to 80% less. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he would sign the executive order on Monday morning to pursue what is known as "most favored nation" pricing or international reference pricing. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. The U.S. pays the most in the world for many prescription drugs, often nearly triple that of other developed nations. Trump has said he wants to close that spread, but has not publicly specified how and did not provide details in his post. This is not the first time President Trump has tried to tie drug prices to what other countries pay. During Trump's first term, a court blocked a proposed international reference pricing program. That proposal five years ago was projected by his administration to save taxpayers more than $85 billion over seven years, cutting into U.S. annual spending of more than $400 billion on drugs.

B. Shares in European and Asian drugmakers fell on Monday, as investors braced themselves for a potential hit to pharmaceutical industry.

Reuters; FT

House GOP Unveils Medicaid Plan Focusing on Work Requirements, Avoiding Deepest Cuts

WASHINGTON—House Republicans are releasing their plan to cut Medicaid spending, with the program’s defenders in the GOP appearing to win the intraparty clash over how aggressively to change the system that provides health insurance to more than 70 million low-income and disabled people. A section-by-section summary of the bill text, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, includes some of the changes Republicans have weighed for Medicaid, including work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks. But it doesn’t lower the minimum share the federal government contributes to Medicaid in each state, cap per-person federal spending in the program or other steps some spending hawks sought. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie in an interview cast the changes as slowing down runaway growth in Medicaid, rather than as cuts, while warning that the program is going to cost more than $1 trillion a year in the next decade if lawmakers don’t rein in spending. The Kentucky Republican acknowledged that Republicans’ plan to trim Medicaid spending will likely be more politically palatable to moderates and centrists than to the conservative wing, which wanted a more dramatic winnowing of the program.

WSJ

Hamas Pledges Release of Last American Hostage in Gaza Amid Cease-Fire, Aid Talks

Hamas said on Sunday that it would release the last American hostage held in Gaza after discussions with the U.S. over a cease-fire and a deal to allow humanitarian aid to enter the strip. In a statement, Hamas said Israeli-American Edan Alexander “will be released as part of the steps aimed at achieving a cease-fire, opening the crossings, and allowing humanitarian aid and relief into our beloved Gaza Strip.” It didn’t make clear what it would specifically receive in return for Alexander’s release. In a post on Truth Social, President Trump wrote, “I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family.” He added that “hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.” A U.S. official said they hoped Alexander would be freed within the next 24 hours.

WSJ

Ukraine's Zelensky Proposes Direct Putin Meeting in Turkey, Upping Stakes in Peace Push

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged Vladimir Putin to meet him in Istanbul this week, after President Trump swung behind the Russian president’s offer of talks before a cease-fire. Zelensky said he would be waiting for Putin in Turkey on Thursday, raising the stakes amid a flurry of diplomatic exchanges and brinkmanship over the weekend where both sides sought to balance not making any significant concessions, with placating Trump, who has demanded an end to the three-year war. Putin didn’t immediately respond to Zelensky’s offer, which goes beyond the scope of the Russian leader’s suggestion of reviving peace talks among subordinates that petered out in 2022. Putin has repeatedly expressed disdain for Zelensky and questioned his legitimacy.

WSJ

May 12, 1903: Teddy Roosevelt’s trip to San Francisco is captured on film, a Presidential first

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Sources

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/business/china-us-tariffs.html
2. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/trump-sign-executive-order-reducing-prescription-drug-prices-2025-05-11/
3. https://www.ft.com/content/b5a24dc2-2dc1-4690-8753-2e06f9395b23
4. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/house-republicans-medicaid-cuts-8164a810?mod=hp_lead_pos3
5. https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hamas-says-it-will-release-last-u-s-hostage-from-gaza-75f52c13?st=Y8fnih&reflink=article_copyURL_share
6. https://www.wsj.com/world/ukraine-insists-truce-must-come-before-putins-proposed-peace-talks-9509ecbc?mod=hp_lead_pos6