[A-List] US imperialism: pharmaceuticals & WTO

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

US pressed to allow cheap drugs for poor countries

Larry Elliott in Geneva
Tuesday February 11, 2003
The Guardian

The White House came under mounting pressure last night to force America's
pharmaceutical companies to accept a deal to provide cheap drugs to poor
countries amid fears that the deadlocked global trade talks could end in a
repeat of the disastrous Seattle meeting three years ago.

The US delegation asked for more time yesterday to take soundings from its
drugs industry after ambassadors from more than 140 countries of the World
Trade Organisation gave broad backing to a compromise brokered by South
Africa.

Resistance from the Bush administration has held up a deal on affordable
drugs - a significant demand by developing countries as part of the Doha
round of trade liberalisation - but there was concern in Geneva last night
that further US opposition would bring the talks to a standstill.

Sergio Marchi, chairman of the WTO's general council, warned last night that
negotiators could not afford to leave decisions until the September meeting
of trade ministers in Cancun, Mexico. "If we pass everything on to Cancun we
are back to Seattle."

There was optimism before yesterday's meeting that the US would accept
proposals thrashed out in talks between its pharmaceutical industry and the
South African trade minister, Alec Irwin, at last month's meeting of the
World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

In December, the US rejected an accord as being too loose, insisting that
any pact should be limited to widespread infectious diseases. It provided a
list, including HIV/Aids, which it said fell into that category. Under
pressure from pharmaceutical companies such as Merck and Pfizer, the Bush
administration said without agreed limitations developing countries could
ignore international patents on almost any treatment.

WTO sources said that Mr Irwin had sought to assure the US that poor
countries would only be interested in drugs for life-threatening illnesses.
Under the plan, the WTO would accept that poor countries were allowed to
import cheap generic copies of patented drugs, but US concerns would be
allayed by an explanatory statement limiting the concession to health
emergencies or pandemics. WTO sources believe the compromise should be
enough to convince US firms that their patents will not be eroded.

However, there was some anger among African delegations last night. "Which
country is going to want to have to say it has a health emergency in order
to be allowed drugs?" one source said. "You can just imagine what that would
do for tourism."