[Ip-health] U.S./Andean FTA Talks Face Setback, as Colombian Medicines Team Resigns

[Mike Palmedo]

U.S./Andean FTA Talks Face Setback, as Colombian Medicines Team Resigns

September 27, 2005
Encarna Nu ez Diaz
 From World Markets Analysis - http://www.worldmarketsanalysis.com

Following the unexpected change in the leadership of the U.S.
intellectual property (IP) team, and its unwillingness to make any
concessions in order to reach an agreement, the Colombian health and
pharmaceutical team has reportedly resigned and abandoned negotiations
for the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the United
States and the Andean countries (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), according
to Colombian newspaper Portafolio. In a letter addressed to Diego
Palacio Betancourt, the country's minister of social protection and
health, the Colombian team stated that the impossibility of negotiating
with the U.S. representatives forced them to take this decision.

Significance: The resignation of the Colombian health and pharmaceutical
team represents a significant setback for the negotiations. The recent
and unexpected change in U.S. IP team's leadership, which was strongly
criticised and provoked discomfort among the Andean representatives, has
certainly proved to be a major inconvenience for the Colombian team (see
Latin America Regional: 21 September 2005: Andean FTA Negotiations See
Colombia Defend Generics Production). At this point, it seems that the
U.S. negotiators will not move from their requests regarding the
establishment of a five-year data protection period for pharmaceuticals
and a 10-year period for agrochemical products, thus passing the ball
into the Andean countries' court; the Andean negotiators must now decide
whether or not to accede to the U.S. requests.