U.S. Trade Report Boosts Big Pharma and Attacks Health Safeguards
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released its annual Special 301 Report, which targets trading partners for allegedly failing to provide “adequate” intellectual property protections or market access. Public Citizen provided comments in the annual Special 301 review process that informs the report.
In response, Public Citizen experts said the report fuels corporate exploitation of trade policy and targets regulations, including those in the European Union (which was added to the report’s “Watch List” this year) and elsewhere that help lower drug prices, that are actively under consideration in the United States, undermining our domestic efforts to safeguard health and respond to corporate power abuses:
“By adding Europe to its bully Watch List, Trump’s trade reps show they will serve Big Pharma and raise drug prices even if they have to twist the logic like a Bavarian pretzel,” said Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen Access to Medicines Director. “This 301 list probes deeper and more invasively than in prior years, attacking domestic affordability policies that have nothing to do with patents or trade. Affordable medicine is a good thing. The American people think so. We could learn from these countries. But Trump is using his full power to beat up on U.S. trading partners that are making medicine more affordable. Everyone loses, except Big Pharma.”
“Trump’s recent Agreements on Reciprocal Trade (ART) take bullying on behalf of Big Pharma to new heights through binding measures that demand changes to trading partners’ laws based directly on brand-name drugmakers’ Special 301 hit list” said Melinda St. Louis, Public Citizen Global Trade Watch Director. “For instance, the Trump administration celebrates its success in leveraging illegal tariffs to get Argentina to change domestic health laws.The report makes clear that Trump’s trade policy is not about protecting U.S. jobs but is all about attacking public interest policies at home and abroad on behalf of pharma bros and other billionaire buddies.”
For more details on the Special 301 Report, read Public Citizen’s 2026 Special 301 Review written comments.