MEDDS Act

Bill: 108-hr-2470
Sponsor: Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-35]
Introduced: 2003-06-12 in the House
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: AIDS (Disease)
Access to health care
Commerce
Competition
Developing countries
Drug industry
Drugs
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Free trade
Health
Human immunodeficiency viruses
Intellectual property
International organization
Patent infringement
Patents
Prescription pricing
Trade agreements
Trade negotiations
Vaccines

Summary:
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: 
Medicines to Eliminate Diseases in Developing States Act or MEDDS Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to encourage developing countries and pharmaceutical companies to make medicines for HIV/AIDS and other diseases available without charge or at affordable prices in developing countries.
 
Prohibits agencies from obligating or expending Federal funds to seek the revocation or revision of any intellectual property or competition law or policy of a developing country that regulates medicines for HIV/AIDS and other diseases, if the law or policy promotes access to such medicines for the population of the country. Prohibits the USTR from initiating a proceeding in the World Trade Organization (WTO) challenging any law or policy of a developing country that promotes such access.
 
Requires the President to direct the U.S. respresentative to the WTO to urge the WTO to exempt developing countries from the application of any provision of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) or other trade agreements that would prohibit or restrict those countries from establishing law or policy promoting access to medicines for HIV/AIDS and other diseases for their populations, and to support full implementation of the Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. Requires the USTR to oppose the inclusion in future trade agreements of any provision that would prohibit or otherwise restrict developing countries from establishing or implementing the laws or policies encouraged by this Act.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2003-06-19
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: Referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: Referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: Referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2003-06-12
text: Introduced in House