Canada announces a ban on some drug exports in response to the US plan

 The plan, promoted by outgoing US President Donald Trump, aims to allow pharmacists and wholesalers to import some prescription drugs in large quantities from Canada, to take effect on Monday.

Montreal: Canada announced, on Saturday, a ban on the export of some medicines that are in short supply or may soon be short, a measure in response to a US plan to import medicines from its northern neighbor.

The plan, promoted by outgoing US President Donald Trump, aims to allow pharmacists and wholesalers to import some prescription drugs in large quantities from Canada, to take effect on Monday.

The US plan aims to lower prices for Americans, but it comes at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has increased demand for some medicines.

The Canadian Ministry of Health said that the ban imposed by Canada went into effect on Friday and aims to "protect Canadian medicine supplies from bulk imports that may exacerbate drug shortages in Canada."

The ministry said that "some medicines intended for the Canadian market are banned from distribution for consumption outside Canada if the sale would lead to a shortage of medicines or exacerbate it."

She said that with a relatively small market in Canada that imports about 68 percent of its drugs from abroad, it was important to avoid supply disruptions.

Medicines tend to be cheaper in Canada than in the United States, although Canadian prices are still higher than in a number of other developed countries.

President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan.20, has spoken of letting patients import prescription drugs from other countries as part of his plans to lower prices.

The price of prescription drugs is a major political issue in the United States.