To direct the President to terminate the designation of Brazil as a beneficiary developing country for purposes of title V of the Trade Act of 1974.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduced H.R. 3141 to terminate general system preferences for imports from Brazil.

I take this action because of extreme action now threatened by the current government of Brazil. Last week, that government delivered a clear threat to seize patents held by the United States. That threat was extreme, unwarranted, and will meet with certain retaliation by the United States government. Given that our economy is far larger than Brazil's, action of this type will hurt Brazil far more than the U.S. and will cause unemployment and loss of income directly due to Brazil's reckless trade policy.

In specific, Brazil threatened Abbott Laboratories, Illinois' largest employer. The doctors and scientists at Abbott helped to invent the test for HIV and then invented the most powerful treatment for HIV. Scientists now are on their way to a cure for AIDS but all of this work will end if we let extreme policies seize the patents of scientists that represent the only hope for a cure.

In Brazil, anti-HIV drugs already sell for only half the price of the same drugs in the U.S. In my judgment, this proposed action to seize U.S. patents is only a subterfuge to not only produce the drug in Brazil but also to export it to other countries on the black market-- all in direct violation of Brazil's solemn obligations to the WTO.

The bill I introduced today will cancel $2 billion in Brazilian exports. If Brazil takes this action, further actions will follow to the detriment of Brazil.

Mr. Speaker, I have reviewed this matter with the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and Speaker Hastert. They share my concerns and would strongly urge Brazil to reconsider extreme threats that will--in the long run--hurt Brazil far more than the U.S.