The Inner Monologue

Americans deserve the respect of American corporations.

If a corporation is chartered, headquartered, protected, subsidized, defended, and enriched under the laws and institutions of the United States, then American citizens should not be treated as its captive premium market while foreign customers are offered the same product or service at a lower net price.

Congress and the Department of Commerce should consider a simple national pricing fairness rule:

Any U.S.-headquartered corporation that sells a materially identical product or service abroad at a lower net commercial price must make that same net price available to U.S. citizens, adjusted only for taxes, shipping, tariffs, currency conversion, and documented local regulatory costs.

This proposal is not intended to suppress coupons, introductory offers, seasonal sales, loyalty discounts, clearance pricing, senior discounts, student discounts, or other special offers made available to Americans. The purpose is narrower and more basic: to prevent American corporations from charging Americans more simply because they can.

American consumers should not be last in line for fairness from companies that depend on American courts, American infrastructure, American markets, American research, American workers, American capital, and American national protection. If a company can profitably sell the same medicine, software subscription, device, part, service, or product abroad for less, then it should be prepared to offer that price to the American public as well.

This would not require foreign prices to rise. It would require American prices to be treated with the same discipline corporations already accept elsewhere.

The rule should define “price” as the final net commercial price after rebates, concessions, side agreements, volume discounts, and other financial adjustments. It should also prevent evasions through cosmetic product differences, artificial bundling, or subsidiary-based pricing games.

American corporations are free to compete globally. They are free to negotiate. They are free to innovate. But they should not be free to treat American citizens as the least-respected customers in the world.

Respect should begin at home.

Sincerely,
A concerned American citizen