PhRMA calls for USTR to correct course on trade policy, enforcement

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) says it has submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to inform the agency’s 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers.

PhRMA’s submission identifies intellectual property (IP) challenges and market access barriers in more than two dozen foreign markets that threaten American jobs and exports of innovative medicines. The submission also details how the USTR’s current trade policies are failing to address these barriers and illustrates the need for the next US Administration to more aggressively defend American innovation abroad.

The trade group points out that the US biopharmaceutical industry leads the world in the research and development of valuable new medicines, supports over 4.9 million jobs across the US economy and is the largest exporter of goods among the USA’s R&D intensive industries. American workers in this vital industry depend on fair access to overseas markets, and robust IP protections in those markets, to remain globally competitive and deliver life-saving medicines to patients.