phrma logo

PhRMA

PhRMA Sites

Login

Explore Member-Only Resources

Access exclusive advocacy, policy, and research materials through the member site.

Login now

About

About

Our Agenda

Our Agenda

Policy Issues

We believe that patients should have access to innovative medicines.

Learn More

Innovation Ecosystem

Intellectual Property

Research & Development

Future of Medicine

Government Price Setting

International

Innovation Ecosystem

Patient Access & Affordability

PBMs & Middlemen

Hospitals and 340B

Insurance Coverage

Cost of Medicines

Medicare & Medicaid

Patient Access & Affordability

Resources

Our mission is to conduct effective advocacy for public policies that encourage the discovery of important, new medicines for patients by biopharmaceutical research companies.

Learn More

Resources

Resources

Newsroom

Newsroom

Blog

Blog

America's Medicines

PhRMA Foundation

PhRMA Foundation Logo

Voters for Cures

VotersForCures.org Logo

Working for Cures

workersforcures.org logo

This is Innovation

Innovation.org logo

View More

Search in PhRMA

Find resources, news, and articles related to policy issues and scientific innovation.

What are you looking for?

Most Recent

Policy Paper

Press

Blog

Report

Fact Sheet

Event

Resource

Pages

Leader

Author

Comment

not used title

not used title

In June 2022, President Biden announced the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP) with eleven other countries in the Western Hemisphere. The White House declared APEP a “historic new agreement to drive our hemisphere’s economy recovery and growth,” including through strengthening supply chains, incentivizing private-sector investment and addressing regulatory issues to make regional trade more resilient.

More than two years later, on June 20, 2024, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) finally requested input from the U.S. business community and other public stakeholders concerning U.S. interests and priorities regarding APEP.

As PhRMA notes in its recent comment letter, USTR’s intentionally unambitious and vague APEP strategy has failed to deliver meaningful results for American workers and businesses. USTR’s list of priorities for APEP indefensibly excludes longstanding and bipartisan U.S. trade objectives — such as protecting intellectual property and actively dismantling foreign trade barriers — that protect American workers from unfair competition abroad.

As PhRMA’s comments explain, these and other trade objectives, such as eliminating regulatory barriers that impede U.S. biopharmaceutical exports, are essential to:

  • Expand export and economic opportunities for American workers and companies
  • Incentivize the invention and production of lifesaving medicines, and
  • Reinforce the resilience of U.S. biopharmaceutical supply chains in the Western Hemisphere.

Unfortunately, USTR’s lack of serious purpose concerning APEP is merely the latest example of the Administration’s misguided and often harmful approach to trade policy, which holds negative consequences for American workers and U.S. businesses facing stiff global competition.

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

PhRMA highlights need for Germany to pay its fair share

August 11, 2026

New “America Cures” ad: U.S. patients get new medicines first

June 15, 2026

New analysis highlights access to new medicines in the United States and abroad

May 13, 2026

USTR’s 2026 Special 301 Report stands up for American innovation

May 4, 2026

No Region Left Behind: USTR expands its unambitious trade agenda to the western hemisphere

International

Trade

No Region Left Behind: USTR expands its unambitious trade agenda to the western hemisphere

July 29, 2024

No Region Left Behind: USTR expands its unambitious trade agenda to the western hemisphere

Stay current on policy making

Sign up for email updates and follow us on social. 

About

Our Agenda

Policy Issues

Resources

Blog

Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Facebook

Facebook

X

Twitter X

LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Instagram

instagram logo

America's Medicines

PhRMA Foundation

Voters for Cures

Working for Cures

Innovation.org

Please type your email

Success!

You've been added to the list