WASHINGTON —The chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce today expressed reservations over the failure to include sought-after intellectual property protections in the latest United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

A handshake deal reportedly was reached this week among the titular nations on the USMCA.

In a statement, Chamber CEO Thomas J. Donohue said, “The US Chamber of Commerce has long supported the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and will continue working for its expeditious passage in both houses of Congress. However, we are seriously disappointed by the removal of certain intellectual property provisions, including but not limited to the biologics provision. The decision to remove key intellectual property protections was based on the false assumption these provisions would raise US drug prices. In fact, the original biologics provision would have resulted in more funding for innovative medical research with no additional cost to US consumers. Now, the only beneficiaries will be foreign governments and consumers who will continue to free-ride on the benefits of American research into new cures without contributing to their development.

"Going forward, the outcome in the area of intellectual property cannot stand as a precedent for future agreements. More than 45 million American jobs and $6.6 trillion in GDP depend on IP-dependent industries, including five million in the biopharmaceutical sector and five million more in the creative industries, and this is where future US competitiveness lies. We will redouble our efforts to demonstrate this to our elected leaders in the months and years ahead.”

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