The USTRx Act Supports Trump’s Push for Fairer Drug Pricing Abroad

President Trump has put a long-running problem in clear terms: foreign governments are using drug pricing policies that leave American patients paying too much of the world’s pharmaceutical research and development bill. Congress now has legislation that would help turn that concern into action.

H.R. 4780, the “USTRx Act,” introduced by U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington and other lawmakers, would create a Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. CFE endorses the bill because it would give the United States a focused trade policy response to foreign practices that undervalue American innovation and shift costs onto American patients.

The President Identified the Right Target

Section 3 of President Trump’s prescription drug pricing executive order directs the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative to address foreign policies that may be unreasonable, discriminatory, or harmful to U.S. national security when they force American patients to finance a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development.

That directive recognizes the issue as a trade problem. America’s pharmaceutical market does not operate in isolation. Foreign governments can use price controls, reimbursement restrictions, and market access barriers to hold down what they pay for medicines while still benefiting from the innovation those medicines represent.

For decades, the United States has led the world in pharmaceutical research. American companies, investors, researchers, and patients have supported the development of treatments that improve lives across the globe. Many wealthy foreign countries benefit from that system while using government policies to avoid paying a fair share of its cost.

The USTRx Act Would Strengthen U.S. Trade Policy

The “USTRx Act” would give the administration a dedicated official responsible for confronting those practices. By creating a Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator at USTR, the bill would elevate pharmaceutical pricing discrimination, market access restrictions, and foreign reimbursement barriers within U.S. trade policy.

The negotiator would identify foreign practices that place a disproportionate burden on American patients, report on those policies, and recommend responses through available trade tools. That structure would bring needed accountability to an issue that too often falls between health care policy and trade enforcement.

The bill directly reinforces the direction President Trump outlined in Section 3. The administration identified the foreign pricing practices that burden American patients. H.R. 4780 would give USTR a clear point of responsibility for addressing them.

Foreign Pricing Practices Shift Costs Onto Americans

American patients and consumers shoulder a disproportionate share of the costs associated with pharmaceutical innovation. The United States accounts for a small share of the world's population, yet American markets generate the majority of the revenue that supports global drug research and development.

Foreign governments do not eliminate the cost of pharmaceutical innovation when they suppress drug prices. They shift more of that cost onto the American market.

Over time, that arrangement places additional pressure on U.S. patients while allowing wealthy countries to benefit from medical breakthroughs developed through a system they do not adequately support. A fairer global framework would require America's trading partners to contribute more responsibly to the innovation ecosystem from which they benefit.

Congress Should Reinforce the Administration’s Effort

The “USTRx Act” gives Congress a practical way to support President Trump’s effort to address unfair foreign drug pricing practices. It does not create a broad new health care bureaucracy or rely on domestic price-setting. Instead, it uses trade policy to confront foreign governments whose policies burden American patients and disadvantage American innovation.

The United States should not allow foreign governments to benefit from American-financed breakthroughs while refusing to pay fair value for the medicines their patients use. A dedicated pharmaceutical trade negotiator would bring greater transparency, focus, and sustained attention to a problem that has persisted for years.

Congress should pass H.R. 4780 and strengthen America’s ability to challenge unfair foreign drug pricing practices.

CFE Takeaway

President Trump has called for action against foreign policies that force American patients to shoulder a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical research and development costs. H.R. 4780, the “USTRx Act,” would help carry out that goal by creating a Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator at USTR and giving foreign drug pricing abuses the trade policy attention they deserve. CFE endorses the bill and urges Congress to advance it.