[Ip-health] Thai Nation on US-Thailand FTA negotiations

[Mike Palmedo]

http://nationmultimedia.com/page.news.php3?clid=3D2&id=3D118079&usrsess=3D1

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Published on Jul 29, 2004

Govt accused of lying about drugs in FTA Trade pact will leave country
at the mercy of US pharmaceuticals, seminar is warned

The government lied when it said it would exclude medicines from the
list of products included under the prospective freetrade agreement
between Thailand and the United States, a seminar was told yesterday.

In the first round of FTA negotiations in the US yesterday, the two
sides discussed amending three main areas of the Thai drug patent act,
Department of Trade Negotiations assistant directorgeneral Wiboonlaksana
Ruamraksa conceded.

Intellectual property is the main agenda of the US, and no country has
ever signed an FTA with the US without accepting Washington=92s condition
of the recognition of drug patents, she added.

The three areas discussed included terms of protection, compulsory
licensing and marketing approval for American drug patents in Thailand,
according to Wiboonlaksana, who was on the Thai negotiating team.

=93This means the government lied in announcing that drugs for people
living with HIV/Aids were off the list,=94 said an academic representing
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at the seminar.

On its website, the World Trade Organisation has posted cautions to
countries planning to forge FTAs with the US, said the FDA
representative, who did not want to be named.

In its warnings, the WTO cited the experiences of 20 countries suffering
from the adverse effects of accepting US conditions on intellectual
property rights for drugs, the FDA representative said.

She said drugs had become dramatically more expensive, the cost of
healthcare in the countries had risen and access to treatment came under
the sway of US pharmaceutical monopolies after signing an FTA.

As new diseases like Sars and bird flu emerge, the countries become
dependent on new drugs, and to lift the drugs=92 compulsory licensing and
extend the life of drug patents would open them to American
pharmaceutical monopolies, she added.

=93Drugs are not like other products, such as apples, that we can choose
not to buy,=94 she said, adding that not only Aids drugs, but other
medicines would be out of reach due to very high prices under the FTA.

The seminar was held by the Office of National Economic and Social
Advisory Council, in a bid to brainstorm the possible adverse effects of
the FTA on the country=92s pharmaceutical and health system.

The conclusions reached by the seminar will be discussed again, then
aired at public hearings before being proposed to the government.

The seminar concluded that country=92s pharmaceutical system =96 healthcare
sectors both private and staterun, local drug manufacturing companies
and consumers =96 would be severely affected if Thailand continues
negotiations on drug patents.

Arthit Khwankhom

THE NATION