[Ip-health] TRIPS council to meet on p6 on August 28, at 4:30

[James Love]

It would seem that this might be it.  The Chairman's statement has been
agreed to USA and many Geneva delegates.  Some developing countries have
expressed concerns, but the end looks near to me.  Important changes
from the December 16 text are the Chairman's text  concessions to the US
regarding the colouring of the medicines and APIs, the Chairman's
statement that the system will not be used to promote industrial policy
objectives (except for those in paragraph 6 of the December 16 Motta
text having to do with an Africa trade union),  and a new role for the
DG of the WTO to mediate disputes between countries over the new P6
system.  The US gives up on scope of diseases.  As was the case in the
Motta text before, the US and the EU can bully countries to opt out,
which is happening, and the US and the legitimize a bizarre system of
protectionism whereby they can refused to allow developing country
generic suppliers to export to the US or EU market, when the US and EU
issue compulsory licenses.  (And this isn't protectionist and anti
development?)

And, since the US, Canada and EU etc, have exempted themselves from
benefiting as importing countries, they would not be able to import even
in the fact of a SARS type crisis, or the Anthrax crisis that in fact
gave rise the Doha Declaration in the first place.  So not only do the
US and EU trade negotiators get a protectionist outcome, but also one
that puts public health at risk in their own countries.  So strong is
the influence of big pharma in the US and EU.

  Jamie

--
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:james.love@cptech.org
tel. +1.202.387.8030, mobile +1.202.361.3040