USTRx Act
- Bill Number
- H.R. 4780
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-07-29: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Last Updated
- 2026-04-21T08:06:25Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose The legislation aims to identify and counter trade practices by high-income countries that use pharmaceutical price controls to lower drug prices below market levels, which the bill states shifts innovation costs to the United States and reduces incentives for new medicine development. It seeks to ensure foreign reimbursement systems are transparent, nondiscriminatory, and provide full market access for U.S. products.
Key Provisions
- Creates a new Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator position within the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to handle negotiations and enforcement related to U.S. pharmaceutical products.
- Requires the USTR to annually list all high-income countries (as defined by World Bank statistics) and submit a detailed report to Congress on each country's pharmaceutical trade practices, including whether they are fair, market-based, recognize innovation value, and comply with trade agreements.
- Directs the USTR, through the new negotiator, to respond within 30 days to any identified adverse practices by submitting a response plan to Congress, which may include launching an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
- Mandates coordination with the Chief Intellectual Property Negotiator where appropriate.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Amends Section 141(b) of the Trade Act of 1974 to add the Chief Pharmaceutical Trade Negotiator role alongside existing positions like the Chief Agricultural Negotiator.
- Introduces new annual reporting and response requirements focused specifically on pharmaceutical trade practices of high-income countries, expanding USTR oversight beyond prior trade agreement enforcement.
Potential Impacts
- Government agencies: Expands USTR responsibilities and staffing for pharmaceutical trade matters, with new reporting obligations to congressional committees.
- Citizens: Intended to protect U.S. patients and taxpayers from bearing disproportionate costs of global drug innovation and to maintain incentives for new treatments.
- International relations: Applies pressure on high-income countries with price controls through trade enforcement tools, potentially affecting bilateral or multilateral agreements.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturers and innovators.
- U.S. patients, consumers, and taxpayers.
- High-income foreign governments with pharmaceutical price control or reimbursement policies.
- The Office of the United States Trade Representative and relevant congressional committees (House Ways and Means and Senate Finance).
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Relies on existing trade authority under the Trade Act of 1974, particularly Section 301 investigations, to address foreign regulatory practices as unfair trade barriers.
- Frames pharmaceutical price controls as deviations from market-based policies that may violate trade agreement benefits.
- Emphasizes reciprocal market access and procedural fairness without altering core constitutional trade powers.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19]
Cosponsors (7)
Rep. Buchanan, Vern [R-FL-16], Rep. Fleischmann, Charles J. "Chuck" [R-TN-3], Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24], Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3], Rep. Miller, Carol D. [R-WV-1], Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4], Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1]
Recent Actions
- 2025-07-29: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- 2025-07-29: Introduced in House
- 2025-07-29: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- Use Sovereignty To reduce Rx Act — issued 2025-07-29 — PDF (7 pages)