Congress·In Committee·H.R. 4780

USTRx Act

Drug Pricing: The USTRx Act

8 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process. It was recently sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means for review. No further actions are scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

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Key Points

This bill creates a new position called the Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator. This official would be responsible for making sure other wealthy countries do not use unfair rules to keep the prices of American-made drugs artificially low.
The bill argues that when other countries set strict price limits, they are not paying their fair share for the cost of inventing new medicines. This forces American patients and taxpayers to pay higher prices to make up the difference for global research and development.
Under this plan, the government must create a yearly list of high-income countries and review their drug pricing policies. The report will check if these countries are being transparent and if they are giving American companies a fair chance to sell their products.
If a country is found to be using unfair price controls, the U.S. Trade Representative must come up with a plan to respond within 30 days. This could include starting formal trade investigations or taking other actions to protect American interests and innovation.