[Ip-health] Bangkok Post op-ed: US_Thai FTA "Could Be a Matter of Life and Death"

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/09Jan2006_news19.php

It could be a matter of life and death - Thailand should think carefully
about surrendering its sovereign rights under the WTO _ and access to
cheap medicine _ in exchange for an FTA with the United States

Op-ed in Bangkok Post
By WILLIAM L. ALDIS
January 9, 2006

Thai and US trade officials are now meeting in Chiang Mai for yet
another round of negotiations in an effort to move closer to a bilateral
free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. On the agenda this
time is the complex and controversial issue of trade-related
intellectual property rights (Trips) and implications for access to
affordable life-saving medicines. Trying to understand the intricacies
of these trade negotiations is enough to put most people to sleep. But
appearances can deceive. Behind the technical jargon and closed-door
negotiations is an eye-opening reality: at stake are the lives of
hundreds of thousands of Thai citizens and the future of Thailand's much
praised ''30 baht'' universal health-care scheme.

If the outcomes of other US bilateral trade negotiations are anything to
go by, Thailand may well be in for a rough ride. Similar agreements have
been signed with Australia, Chile, Morocco, Singapore, Bahrain and
Central American countries, and all contain provisions that oblige these
countries to tighten their intellectual property rights legislation well
beyond internationally agreed standards. To the surprise of many
observers, these countries have bargained away reasonable flexibilities
and safeguards in the implementation of intellectual property rights
provided by the World Trade Organisation. These safeguards ensure access
to life-saving medicines at an affordable cost by permitting countries
to produce or import less expensive versions of essential drugs.

Last month, a group of world-renowned experts from Argentina, India,
France, Malaysia, Philippines, Switzerland, Thailand, the US and
Venezuela assembled in Bangkok for a two-day consultation about these
complex issues with Thai government officials, trade negotiators,
academics and activists. The meeting was organised by the Thai Food and
Drug Administration, the Department of Disease Control of the Ministry
of Public Health, Chulalongkorn University, UNAids, UNDP and World
Health Organisation.

These experts urged the Thai government not to give up its sovereign
right to use, to the fullest extent, all available flexibilities
contained in the Trips Agreement of the World Trade Organisation and
reaffirmed by the Doha Declaration.

They declared that Thailand should not be obliged to accept any
so-called ''Trips-plus'' provisions that have been inserted into other
bilateral free trade agreements.

They suggested that Thailand should consider following the example of
Malaysia and issue ''compulsory licences'' (permission to produce drugs
locally) for second-generation HIV drugs, as allowed by the World Trade
Organisation. This will ensure an affordable supply of HIV treatment for
those patients that are inevitably developing resistance to the first
generation treatment.

They also recommended that Thailand ensure transparency of the FTA
negotiating process. Negotiating texts should be given to all relevant
government agencies, civil society, private sector firms, consumers and
other stakeholders, and all these groups should be consulted before any
final agreements are concluded.

The stakes are indeed high, especially for the 600,000 Thais living with
HIV/Aids and whose survival will depend on the availability of
affordable anti-retroviral drugs.

As of today, more than 80,000 people have access to these
life-prolonging treatments, thanks to the supply of cheap locally
produced generic drugs, and the target is 150,000 by 2008. As a result,
Aids deaths in Thailand have fallen by an extraordinary 79%.

The recent decision of the Thai government to include HIV treatment in
the 30 baht health-care scheme is being praised the world over. It is
also a tribute to Thailand's firm commitment to the human right to
health care as enshrined in the Thai Constitution.

But this also means there is no turning back. As HIV-positive people
inevitably develop resistance to first-generation drugs, the public
health services will be morally and legally obliged to find ways to
ensure access to second- and third-generation treatments to keep these
people alive and healthy, whatever the cost.

This is why so many experts and activists are worried about the US-Thai
FTA. Restrictive intellectual property rights will prevent Thailand from
using locally produced affordable generic drugs and the price of second-
and third-generation HIV drugs will remain exorbitantly expensive.

Depending on the rate at which patients become resistant to first
generation HIV treatment and the rate of expansion of the programme, the
cost of the government's HIV treatment programme may increase from a
current US million (1.5 billion baht) to as much as 0 million (20
billion baht) a year within 10 years.

Add to this other diseases requiring long-term treatment and the
accumulated financial strain on the national health budget would be
untenable.

Giving up internationally agreed flexibilities in the implementation of
intellectual property rights would put at risk the survival of hundreds
of thousands of Thai citizens, and would likely bankrupt the 30 baht
scheme in the process.

William L. Aldis, a medical doctor, is with the World Health Organisation.




--
Mike Palmedo
Research and Web
Consumer Project on Technology
T =96 202-332-2670
F =96 202-332-2673
mpalmedo@cptech.org