[Ip-health] did Cheney intervene? Or is this more Bush?

[James Love]

There is no evidence that I have seen that Cheney has intervened in the
paragraph 6 dispute.

There is plenty of evidence that Bush's own economic team was deeply
involved, and had completely taken the negotiations over from USTR.

People looking here should start with Gary Edson, Deputy Assistant to the
President for International Economic Affairs and Deputy National Security
Advisor, (formerly Carla Hills USTR official in the Bush Sr. presidency) who
was very involved (in a pro-pro-Phrma ay) in para 6 negotiations, and Josh
Bolten, the very powerful but little known Assistant to the President and
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, who was USTR general counsel under Bush
Sr. a decade ago, and a former Senate Finance staffer who worked on the
special 301 legislation.

A widely held view is that Karl Rove was involved as well, and it is
difficult to imagine the WH strong arming of Zoellick without both Bolten
and Rove's involvement.

   Jamie

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James Love, Consumer Project on Technology
http://www.cptech.org, mailto:love@cptech.org
voice: 1.202.387.8030; mobile 1.202.361.3040