USTRx Act
Bill: H.R.4376 | Sponsor: Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. (R-TX)
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary:
Use Sovereignty To reduce Rx Act or the USTRx Act
This bill establishes the role of Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator within the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to conduct trade negotiations, enforce trade agreements relating to U.S. pharmaceutical products, and address acts, policies, or practices of high-income countries that adversely impact the market access of U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers.
The USTR must annually compile a list of high-income countries based on official statistics of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank. Based on that list, the negotiator must submit a report describing (1) such countries' actions and impacts relating to the pharmaceutical trade, and (2) the current status of any responsive actions taken by the United States.

To identify and take action against international trade practices of 
  high income countries that unfairly exploit innovation by deviating 
     from market-based policies and unfairly exploit United States 
                  innovation, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Use Sovereignty To reduce Rx Act'' 
or the ``USTRx Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Pharmaceutical price controls in foreign markets 
        distort global trade flows and competition by depressing the 
        prices of innovative drugs and exploiting pharmaceutical 
        innovations researched and developed in the United States.
            (2) By setting prices at levels that are not market-based, 
        such price controls undervalue the discovery of new, innovative 
        treatments, diminish opportunities and incentives for global 
        innovation in new medicines, and threaten to restrict access to 
        new treatments and cures for United States patients and 
        consumers.
            (3) Recognizing these dynamics, it is critical that the 
        United States use all available trade tools to address such 
        free-riding, consistent with the negotiating objectives set 
        forth in the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and 
        Accountability Act of 2015 (19 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.), to ensure 
        that foreign government regulatory reimbursement regimes are 
        transparent, provide procedural fairness, are non-
        discriminatory, and provide full market access to United States 
        products.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) ensuring the security of innovative and affordable 
        healthcare is a top priority for Americans and for Congress;
            (2) foreign government policies that mandate artificially 
        low drug prices in foreign markets undermine this priority by 
        reducing global incentives to invest in the development of new 
        medicines;
            (3) such exploitative behavior unfairly shifts the cost of 
        developing new treatments to the United States and unduly 
        relies on America's patients and taxpayers to finance global 
        pharmaceutical innovation; and
            (4) safeguarding access to life-saving treatments for 
        American patients requires combating such behavior so that 
        foreign countries pay their fair share of the costs associated 
        with the development of new drugs.

SEC. 3. CHIEF PHARMACEUTICAL TRADE NEGOTIATOR.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 141(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
U.S.C. 2171(b)), is amended as follows:
            (1) In paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ``one Chief 
                Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator,'' after ``one Chief 
                Agricultural Negotiator,''; and
                    (B) by inserting ``the Chief Pharmaceutical Trade 
                Negotiator,'' after ``the Chief Agricultural 
                Negotiator,'' each place it appears.
            (2) By adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(7) The principal functions of the Chief Pharmaceutical 
        Trade Negotiator shall be to conduct trade negotiations, 
        enforce trade agreements relating to United States 
        pharmaceutical products, and take appropriate action to address 
        acts, policies, or practices of high-income countries that have 
        a significant adverse impact on the ability of United States 
        pharmaceutical manufacturers to enjoy full market access. The 
        Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator shall be a vigorous 
        advocate on behalf of United States manufacturers and consumers 
        of pharmaceutical products and shall perform such other 
        functions as the United States Trade Representative may 
        direct.''.
    (b) Annual Report.--
            (1) List of high-income countries.--The United States Trade 
        Representative shall compile and annually update a list of each 
        foreign country that is defined as ``high-income'' by the 
        official statistics of the International Bank for 
        Reconstruction and Development of the World Bank.
            (2) Report required.--With respect to each country included 
        on the most recent list required under paragraph (1), the 
        United States Trade Representative, acting through the Chief 
        Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator, (as established pursuant to 
        the amendments made by subsection (a)) shall annually submit to 
        the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives 
        and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report that--
                    (A) describes in detail the results of a review of 
                the acts, policies, and practices of such country 
                relating to the trade in pharmaceutical products in the 
                previous fiscal year;
                    (B) determines whether such acts, policies, or 
                practices--
                            (i) are not developed and implemented in a 
                        fair, nondiscriminatory, and transparent 
                        manner;
                            (ii) are not market-based or do not 
                        appropriately recognize the value of innovative 
                        medicines;
                            (iii) deny reciprocal market access for 
                        United States products;
                            (iv) diminish incentives for innovation in 
                        a manner that delays, prevents, or otherwise 
                        adversely impacts the introduction of new 
                        medicines in the United States;
                            (v) violate or are inconsistent with the 
                        provisions of, or otherwise deny benefits to 
                        the United States under, any bilateral or 
                        multilateral trade agreement with such country;
                            (vi) are unjustifiable or impose a 
                        significant burden or unreasonable or 
                        discriminatory restriction on United States 
                        commerce with such country; and
                    (C) describes the current status of any responsive 
                actions taken by the United States with respect to 
                acts, policies, or practices for which the United 
                States Trade Representative has determined and included 
                in any prior report, pursuant to subparagraph (B), that 
                the interests of the United States are harmed, 
                including responsive actions pursuant to title III of 
                the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.).
    (c) Response to Adverse Actions.--Not later than 30 days after the 
United States Trade Representative determines that an act, policy, or 
practice of a country included in the applicable list required under 
subsection (b)(1) meets any of the criteria described in subsection 
(b)(2)(B), the United States Trade Representative shall submit to 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate a plan to respond to such adverse 
action, which may include initiating an investigation under chapter 1 
title III of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411 et seq.), in 
accordance with section 302(b)(1) of such chapter.
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