News

The Ripon Advance: Terry encourages trade agreements to further U.S. innovation
October 8, 2013
By: Marjorie Clark

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) discussed U.S. trade agreements on Oct. 1 at a Ripon Society breakfast meeting.

“We have focused on U.S. manufacturing, particularly in steel, in auto manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and technology,” Terry said. “All have policy issues that we need to resolve.”

Terry, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, said the committee will start hearings this year on auto safety and the use of U.S.-made medical devices in Europe.

“Frankly, I think there’s room for us to recognize or work with their medical association on their ability to get drugs to the market quicker than the U.S.,” Terry said.

Terry said work needs to be done to protect American innovation oversees.

“When we get to the Pacific, it is more about forcing them, whether it’s India or others, to really recognize the importance of our intellectual property and protections,” Terry said. “When you have a country like India, when an American pharmaceutical company moves there, just take over the patent and start manufacturing it and start exporting. And yet we’re doing virtually nothing in this country to stop that.”

In September, Terry introduced the Playing Fair on Trade and Innovation Act to combat this issue. The legislation would block duty-free access to U.S. markets for countries without protection for intellectual property. The bill is currently in committee.