UAEM Stands Up for Patients and Affordable Medicines at USTR Hearing

WASHINGTON, D.C. — From December 3-5, 2025, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is holding a public hearing on the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA). The USMCA is up for its first six-year joint review on July 1, 2026, and this is a critical opportunity for USTR to remove harmful intellectual property provisions that hinder access to medicines for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

On December 3, UAEM program manager, Cassidy Parshall, testified on behalf of a coalition of public health, faith, and civil society organizations to outline the changes needed to ensure this trade agreement does not stand in the way of public health. She delivered the following remarks:

“UAEM is a researcher and student-driven organization that works to ensure that health products developed in university labs with public funding are accessible to the people who need them.

Today, nearly 30 public health, faith, and civil society organizations join UAEM in urging for a revised USMCA that serves the public interest and does not limit access to medicines. 

These organizations include: 

Treatment Action Group, Doctors Without Borders USA, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, National Nurses United, Social Security Works, Communications Workers of America, and Public Citizen, among others.

Our message today is that trade agreements must not stand in the way of health and access to medicines. 

Across North America, people are struggling with drug prices that are far too high. In its current form, the USMCA locks in rules that keep medicines unaffordable, discourage competition, and ultimately impede availability and access. 

As such, there is an urgent need for the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to revise the USMCA to remove these harmful provisions.

We believe that the most effective solution is to remove the intellectual property chapter from the Agreement entirely. The balance between the rights of patent holders and the right to public health is a matter for democratic policymaking, not decisions that should be rushed through international trade agreements negotiated in secret. 

But, if the intellectual property chapter remains in the Agreement, several pharmaceutical-related provisions must be removed. 

First, patent term extensions in Articles 20.44 and 20.46 that grant corporations additional years of monopoly beyond the internationally agreed 20-year term. 

Term extensions significantly delay access to generics, restricting access to affordable medicines and increasing health system costs.

Second, market exclusivity in Articles 20.48 and 20.48.2 that grant additional monopoly protections beyond those provided by patents. 

These exclusivities are independent of patent protection, blocking generic market entry even when a medicine is not protected by a patent or when public interest exceptions are needed to facilitate access and respond to health emergencies.

Third, patent linkage in Article 20.50 that links medicine marketing approval status to patent status. 

Under patent linkage, even weak or questionable patents can be used to delay the introduction of generics. Patent linkage systems can facilitate abuse since the financial benefits of blocking generic competition often outweigh the risks of penalties.

And last, enforcement provisions beyond internationally agreed standards. 

The USMCA’s enforcement provisions give companies expanded remedies beyond the generous infringement remedies they already have, further upsetting the balance between the representation of industry interests and the public interest. These mechanisms risk chilling legitimate policy actions aimed at expanding access to medicines.

Ultimately, the USMCA in its current form puts the private interests of pharmaceutical corporations above public health. 

We urge the U.S., Mexico, and Canada to pursue a revised agreement that helps address the shared problem of excessive drug prices and allows all parties to protect health and provide timely access to affordable medicines.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify and for considering these necessary reforms to ensure that the revised agreement serves the public interest.”