SUPPORT OF THE RE-IMPORTATION OF PHARMACEUTICALS

WHEREAS, the Pfizer Company and the Eli Lilly Company have stopped shipping to Canadian companies engaged in reselling their products in the United States; andIreland; and

WHEREAS, the safety standards of neither Canadian nor European drug makers has been questioned; and

WHEREAS, the prices of drugs are skyrocketing beyond the capacity of many to afford their use; and

WHEREAS, the Medicare law passed in November prevents government at any level to negotiate prices with drug manufacturers:

RESOLVED, that the AFT join other groups such as the Alliance for Retired Americans in supporting legislation such as the bipartisan Dorgan-Snowe bill (S.2328) that would assure the right of Americans to re-import drugs from Canada and other developed nations, ensure the safety of those drugs and prevent the U.S. pharmaceutical industry from withholding their products from nations that are an authorized source of re-imported drugs.