But when Pfizer is no longer American, the United States should stop protecting its foreign assets.
Nor should Pfizer reap the benefits when the United States goes to bat for American corporations in trade deals.
In the Pacific Partnership and the upcoming deal with the European Union, the interests of American pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer -- gaining more patent protection abroad, limiting foreign release of drug data, and preventing other governments controlling drug prices -- have been central points of contention.
And Pfizer has been one of the biggest beneficiaries. From now on, it shouldn't be.
U.S. pharmaceutical companies rake in about $12 billion a year because Medicare isn't allowed to use its huge bargaining power to get lower drug prices.
But a non-American company like Pfizer shouldn't get any of this windfall. From now on, Medicare should squeeze every penny it can out of Pfizer.
American drug companies also get a free ride off of basic research done by the National Institutes of Health.
Last year the NIH began a collaboration with Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation -- subsidizing Pfizer's appropriation of early scientific discoveries for new medications.
In the future, Pfizer shouldn't qualify for this subsidy, either.
Finally, non-American corporations face restrictions on what they can donate to U.S. candidates for public office, and how they can lobby the U.S. government.
Yet Pfizer has been among America's biggest campaign donors and lobbyists.
In 2014, it ponied up $2,217,066 to candidates (by contrast, its major competitor Johnson & Johnson spent $755,000). And Pfizer spent $9,493,000 on lobbyists.
So far in the 2016 election cycle, it's been one of the top 10 corporate donors.
Pfizer's political generosity has paid off -- preventing Congress from attaching a prescription drug benefit to Medicare, or from making it easier for generics to enter the market, or from using Medicare's bargaining power to reduce drug prices.
And the company has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the candidacies of state attorneys general in order to get favorable settlements in cases brought against it.
But by deserting America, Pfizer relinquishes its right to influence American politics.
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