[Ip-health] Bridges - Disagreement Over Data Protection Holding Up Andean-US FTA

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/05-09-28/inbrief.htm

DISAGREEMENT OVER DATA PROTECTION HOLDING UP ANDEAN-US FTA

Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest
September 28, 2005

Ecuador's opposition to US demands on access to test data for clinical
drug trials has emerged as a primary obstacle in the ongoing free trade
agreement (FTA) talks between the US and a group of three Andean
countries. Trade officials from the US, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru met
in Cartagena, Colombia from 19-23 September for the twelfth round of
Andean-US FTA negotiations (Bolivia participates as an observer). The
talks are being held up primarily due to persisting differences among
the parties on intellectual property rights and agriculture.

As part of the intellectual property rights obligations in the FTA, the
US wants a five-year protection period for the clinical test data that
pharmaceutical companies submit to government sanitary authorities when
seeking the right to put a new drug on the market. Colombia and Peru
have accepted this. Ecuador, however, insists that the data protection
period should be no longer than three years.

The agriculture negotiations are isolated from the broader talks, and
have been continuing on three separate bilateral tracks between the US
and each of the Andean countries. Little of substance is expected to
emerge from those discussions. This would disappoint the Andean
countries, which have been seeking increased access to the US market for
their farm products (see BRIDGES Weekly, 14 September 2005).

The Colombian and Peruvian governments maintain that they would like to
wrap up the talks by October. Ecuador, in contrast, has said that it is
in no rush to conclude the talks, as a result of the data protection issue.

PUENTES Quincenal, 21 September 2005.