{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2025/07/22/budd-joins-young-colleagues-to-urge-end-to-foreign-free-riding-burdening-american-patients-calls-for-ip-negotiator-appointment/", "Budd Joins Young, Colleagues to Urge End to Foreign Free-Riding Burdening American Patients & Calls for IP Negotiator Appointment", "2025-07-22", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "Senate", "NC", "Ted Budd", "B001305", "www.budd.senate.gov", "budd", "https://www.budd.senate.gov/category/news/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) joined Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), and several of his Senate Republicans colleagues, in sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging the Trump Administration to use ongoing trade negotiations to eliminate foreign price controls that leave American patients footing the cost for pharmaceutical research and development.\n\n\u201cWe welcome President Trump\u2019s efforts to ensure foreign nations pay their fair share toward the cost of pharmaceutical research and development. For too long, some developed nations have benefited from American-financed innovation by implementing policies that suppress prices and limit spending on new medicines in their own markets,\u201d wrote the senators. \u201cThese actions have contributed to American patients bearing a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical innovation costs. U.S. trade negotiations offer a valuable mechanism to address these unfair practices, which not only burden Americans, but also function as non-tariff barriers to trade.\u201d\n\nThe letter also urges the Administration to designate a senior political official within the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to lead trade discussions on pharmaceutical pricing in the near term, and to promptly nominate a qualified individual to fill the long-vacant Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator role, who would ultimately assume leadership of this effort. Created by Congress in 2015, the position was intended to \u201caddress acts, policies, and practices of foreign governments that have a significant adverse impact on the value of United States innovation.\u201d\n\n\u201cAppointing an experienced Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator would send a strong signal to our trading partners that the United States is committed to addressing imbalanced pharmaceutical pricing and ensuring that any commitments secured are effectively implemented and enforced over the long term,\u201d the senators wrote.\n\nU.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also joined in signing the letter.\n\nRead the full letter text HERE and below:\n\nDear Secretary Lutnick and Ambassador Greer,\n\nWe welcome President Trump\u2019s efforts to ensure foreign nations pay their fair share toward the cost of pharmaceutical research and development. For too long, some developed nations have benefited from American-financed innovation by implementing policies that suppress prices and limit spending on new medicines in their own markets. These actions have contributed to American patients bearing a disproportionate share of global pharmaceutical innovation costs. U.S. trade negotiations offer a valuable mechanism to address these unfair practices, which not only burden Americans, but also function as non-tariff barriers to trade.\n\nExecutive Order 14297, issued on May 12, directed the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to pursue the removal of policies and practices abroad that have \u201cthe effect of forcing American patients to pay for a disproportionate amount of global pharmaceutical research and development, including by suppressing the price of pharmaceutical products below fair market value in foreign countries.\u201d Consistent with this directive, it is important that Commerce and USTR engage with U.S. trading partners to negotiate binding commitments to remove these market-distorting price controls.\n\nCurrently, dozens of countries\u2014including those with longstanding pricing policies affecting U.S. pharmaceutical products\u2014have expressed interest or are currently undergoing tariff negotiations. Now is the time for Commerce and USTR to clarify top priorities, capitalize on opportunities, and resolve unfair foreign government policies in support of American workers and patients.\n\nGiven the complexity of the issues and their importance to the American public, we urge the Administration to immediately designate a senior political official at USTR to lead the effort to secure and enforce pharmaceutical pricing commitments through trade negotiations and also to promptly nominate a qualified individual to fill the vacant position of Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator. Congress created this important position in 2015 to \u201caddress acts, policies, and practices of foreign governments that have a significant adverse impact on the value of United States innovation.\u201d Once filled, we recommend this role\u2014supported by a team within USTR\u2014be charged with leading this effort.\n\nAppointing an experienced Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator would send a strong signal to our trading partners that the United States is committed to addressing imbalanced pharmaceutical pricing and ensuring that any commitments secured are effectively implemented and enforced over the long term.\n\nWe look forward to working with you as you confront these longstanding and unfair price controls that leave Americans disproportionately funding global health care innovation. Eliminating these egregious practices could increase investment in medical research and development by billions of dollars and lower overall health care costs for Americans. In addition, encouraging foreign governments to appropriately value medicines developed and produced in the United States would significantly bolster U.S. exports and jobs. We appreciate your continued attention to this issue and stand ready to support efforts that promote fair and sustainable trade outcomes.\n\nSincerely,\n\n/X/\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:48:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2025/07/22/budd-joins-young-colleagues-to-urge-end-to-foreign-free-riding-burdening-american-patients-calls-for-ip-negotiator-appointment/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7821700312197208, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}