ISDS Case Map
medicines
The debate over the cost of medicines in Australia took a new twist today, with Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile declaring the Government will have a second look at provisions within the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. They're provisions that were specifically designed to keep the cost of pharmaceuticals down.
The Federal Opposition is warning the cost of medicines will rise if a Labor amendment designed to protect Australian drug prices in the US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is removed.
Some observers believe that certain FTA provisions may lock the United
States into current intellectual property policies, inhibiting opportunities for future
reform. Others are concerned that under existing multilateral
agreements, the intellectual
property obligations found within one FTA may extend beyond that particular treaty
partner. Some perceive FTAs to be an inappropriate and unfair
vehicle for international intellectual property reforms due to the strong bargaining
position of the United States.
NGOs call upon WTO Members and their trade negotiators
to protect the public from the explosion of one-sided and harmful
regional and bilateral trade agreements that impose TRIPS plus
obligations on developing countries that undermine access to
medicine.
Tonga acceded to the WTO yesterday and one of the conditions of it being
allowed to join the WTO was to have TRIPS+ linkage of patent status and data
exclusivity.
The chairman of the bishops' International Policy Committee Monday offered a Catholic perspective on a pending free trade agreement, suggesting that the United States and several Andean nations could simultaneously promote human dignity and fair and sustainable development.
Aids patients are unlikely to gain access to cheaper drugs after the free trade agreement between Thailand and the United States is signed, as the planned Thai-US FTA is likely to protect only American patented drugs.
An agreement by Peru to accept US demands on protecting intellectual property rights, including protections for pharmaceutical test data found in other US free trade agreements, paved the way for a final deal on a US-Peru FTA.
Andean countries in late November narrowed differences with the United States over intellectual property protections in negotiations over a US-Andean bilateral free trade agreement, but divisions over market access for agriculture have likely delayed a final agreement until next year, at least for Colombia and Ecuador.
The proposed free trade pact with the US has caused big demonstrations in Peru due to the farmers of sugar cane, rice, corn, potatoes and cotton fear that US agricultural subsidies will make it impossible for them to compete.
