US approves WTO generic drug measure for poor countries

AFP ^ | Dec 17, 2005

[hedgetrimmer]

The United States has said it had approved a World Trade Organisation deal to make generic medicines more widely available to poor countries.

US Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record), in Hong Kong for a WTO conference, announced that Washington had formally accepted the accord, which was settled last week at the WTO's Geneva base.

WTO members confirmed their support for a provisional 2003 amendment to intellectual property rules that enabled poor countries to import generic drugs to treat infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS.

"Our acceptance of this amendment is an important step in the global effort in providing the best access to life-saving drugs," said Portman in a statement Saturday.

The United States is the first of the 149 governments in the WTO to formally accept the deal and encourages others to follow its lead soon, Portman said.

Last week's agreement was widely seen as a gesture to the developing world ahead of the WTO's ministerial conference here.

Rich and poor nations have repeatedly clashed during four years of wide-ranging trade liberalisation negotiations and appear to have made only modest headway in resolving their differences at the six-day Hong Kong conference, which is scheduled to end Sunday.

The 2003 agreement gave poor nations a temporary exemption from international laws protecting intellectual property rights, enabling them to buy cheaper generic drugs from pharmaceutical companies in countries such as Brazil and India.

The measure will come into force by December 1, 2007 at the latest following a final ratification by two-thirds of the WTO membership, according to the organisation.

Western countries insisted that their drug companies be protected from the re-export of generic medicines, and all parties have agreed to act "in good faith" and to make use of the mechanism for public health rather than commercial purposes.

Generic drugs are identical copies of branded drugs but are sold at a lower price. Branded drugs benefit from copyright protection for a specified length of time.

Several humanitarian organisations have faulted the accord, saying it is too cumbersome to be effective.

[hedgetrimmer]

"free trade" is global socialism. Americans pay more so that others pay less.

[Abathar]

Here is the new director of money savings for this idea.

[Abathar]

Link didn't work-

http://www.theindychannel.com/health/5596913/detail.html

[hedgetrimmer]

The 2003 agreement gave poor nations a temporary exemption from international laws protecting intellectual property rights, enabling them to buy cheaper generic drugs from pharmaceutical companies in countries such as Brazil and India.

Advantaging "poor countries" and subsidizing their economies while giving up our right to form our own domestic policies. Another example of the fraudulently named "Free trade" --the biggest corruption scandal ever.