WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce drug prices (all times local):

President Donald Trump is launching what he says will be the “most sweeping action in history to lower the price of prescription drugs for the American people.”

Trump is outlining his administration’s long-awaited plan in a Rose Garden speech.

He says the plan will lead to tougher negotiations, more competition and much lower prices at the pharmacy counter and will begin to take effect soon.

The plan, however, is expected to mostly spare the pharmaceutical industry he previously accused of “getting away with murder.”

It will instead focus on increasing private competition to lower pharmacy costs for consumers.

President Donald Trump is set to unveil his long-awaited plan for reducing drug prices.

The strategy will be outlined in a speech Friday. It comes after more than a year of promises to tackle pharmacy costs that are squeezing millions of Americans.

The administration is not expected to act on a key Trump campaign pledge to use the massive buying power of the federal government’s Medicare program to directly negotiate lower drug prices for seniors.

Instead, administration officials are previewing a raft of old and new ideas to increase competition and improve transparency in the notoriously complex drug pricing system with the ultimate aim of wringing more savings for consumers.