I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1690

To amend the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit the ExportImport Bank of the United States from assisting the export of any

good or service to or by any company that is challenging an intellectual

property law or government policy of a developing country, which regulates and promotes access to an HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical or medical

technology.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 2, 2001

Ms. WATERS (for herself and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL

To amend the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to prohibit

the Export-Import Bank of the United States from assisting the export of any good or service to or by any

company that is challenging an intellectual property law

or government policy of a developing country, which regulates and promotes access to an HIV/AIDS pharmaceutical or medical technology.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Export-Import Bank

3 HIV/AIDS Medicine Access Promotion Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. BAN ON EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ASSISTANCE FOR

5 COMPANIES CHALLENGING INTELLECTUAL

6 PROPERTY LAW OR GOVERNMENT POLICY OF

7 A DEVELOPING COUNTRY, WHICH REGU8 LATES AND PROMOTES ACCESS TO HIV/AIDS

9 PHARMACEUTICAL OR MEDICAL TECH10 NOLOGY.

11 Section 2(b) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945

12 (12 U.S.C. 635(b)) is amended by adding at the end the

13 following:

14 ‘‘(13) PROHIBITION RELATING TO COMPANIES CHAL15 LENGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW OR GOVERN16 MENT POLICY OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY, WHICH REGU17 LATES AND PROMOTES ACCESS TO HIV/AIDS PHARMA18 CEUTICAL OR MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Bank may not

20 guarantee, insure, or extend (or participate in

21 the extension of) credit in connection with the

22 export of any good or service by or to a restric23 tive company or the parent or a subsidiary of

24 such a company.

25 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(i) RESTRICTIVE COMPANY.—The

2 term ‘restrictive company’ means a com3 pany that—

4 ‘‘(I) is challenging the validity of

5 a qualified HIV/AIDS access law or

6 policy in a court of law;

7 ‘‘(II) is a complaining party with

8 respect to such a law or policy, pursu9 ant to any provision of the Agreement

10 on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellec11 tual Property Rights (as described in

12 section 101(d)(15) of the Uruguay

13 Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C.

14 3511(d)(15))), or any provision of any

15 other international agreement relating

16 to intellectual property rights; or

17 ‘‘(III) has made a formal com18 plaint to the United States Trade

19 Representative about such a law or

20 policy, which complaint has not been

21 withdrawn.

22 ‘‘(ii) QUALIFIED HIV/AIDS ACCESS

23 LAW OR POLICY.—The term ‘qualified

24 HIV/AIDS access law or policy’ means a

25 law or government policy of a developing
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1 country, relating to intellectual property,

2 which—

3 ‘‘(I) has the effect of regulating

4 the use of a pharmaceutical or tech5 nology that may be used in the treat6 ment of human immunodeficiency

7 virus or acquired immune deficiency

8 syndrome, or an associated opportun9 istic disease; and

10 ‘‘(II) promotes access to the

11 pharmaceutical or technology by the

12 population of any such country.

13 ‘‘(iii) DEVELOPING COUNTRY.—The

14 term ‘developing country’ means a country

15 that has a per capita income which does

16 not exceed that of an upper middle income

17 country, as defined in the World Develop18 ment Report published by the Inter19 national Bank for Reconstruction and De20 velopment.’’.

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