The United States Trade Representative (USTR) finally solicited input from the business community and other stakeholders concerning the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC). This belated request – the initiative was announced more than three years ago in June 2021 – further highlights the Biden Administration’s unambitious trade agenda.
The objective of the TTC was to enhance U.S.-EU trade, investment and technological cooperation. Unfortunately, USTR’s neglect of the TTC has resulted in failure to achieve this objective, including in the biopharmaceutical sector, contradicting the agency’s own stated aspirations to “facilitate trade in safe and effective medicines;” and “facilitat[e] the movement of supply chains to trusted partners[.]” This omission follows USTR’s unwillingness to endorse the common-sense and bipartisan Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act, which would authorize the President to negotiate agreements with the European Union and other trusted partners “with respect to medical goods to contribute to the national security and public health of the United States.”
In response to USTR’s request, PhRMA submitted comments criticizing the Administration’s failure to leverage the TTC to strengthen biopharmaceutical supply chains between the United States and the European Union and outlines specific and actionable policy recommendations that the TTC, if taken more seriously by USTR, would be well-positioned to implement.
PhRMA encourages USTR to correct course and achieve the following through the TTC:
- Enhance U.S.-EU regulatory cooperation and eliminate regulatory barriers that discriminate against American medicines
- Affirm the importance of strong intellectual property (IP) protections and work jointly to promote IP protection globally
- Foster supply chain diversification among trusted trading partners, including through the elimination of tariffs and digital trade barriers
USTR should not squander this opportunity to deepen U.S-EU trade and investment in the biopharmaceutical sector. Greater collaboration, more efficient regulations and fewer trade barriers would generate economic benefits and increase access to novel treatments in the United States, the European Union and the rest of the world.
Douglas Petersen
Douglas Petersen is PhRMA’s Vice President for international trade. Previously, he was international trade counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, an international trade attorney with White & Case LLP and a trade policy analyst at the Cato Institute. He received a law degree from New York University, a graduate degree from the London School of Economics, and undergraduate degrees from the University of Utah.
Douglas Petersen
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