ISDS Case Map
traditional knowledge
The recent clash between indigenous peoples and Peruvian national police sends a powerful message from the Amazon jungle straight to Washington: The enormous social, political, and environmental costs of the free-trade model are no longer acceptable.
Modifications to intellectual property laws that the Peruvian government "rushed through" to enable the go-ahead of a free trade agreement (FTA) between Peru and the United States could facilitate biopiracy and hamper Peru's position as a protector of traditional knowledge, say experts.
Not all Pacific Islands countries are ready to open their doors to free trade under the Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), according to the Pacific Islands ACP Trade Ministers' Meeting that was held in Fiji this week.
A recent draft of the EPA between the EU and 16 Eastern and Southern Africa countries gives a taste of what these treaties might spell out in terms of rights to local biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
Under CAFTA, indigenous heritage becomes intellectual property for the United States.
Traditional knowledge has come up in a dozen or so FTA drafting processes over the last couple of years. In half of those cases, specific provisions on traditional knowledge were signed.
Critics argue that the biodiversity provisions in the US-Peru FTA do not improve the status quo to effectively tackle concerns over misappropriation of biodiversity and TK.
The heated debate over intellectual property is one of the sticking points in the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Thailand and the United States, which are scheduled to resume next week.
Given that CAFTA-DR passed only by a small margin, it is unclear how much
support the U.S.-Andean FTA will have.
