[Ip-health] USTR Statement on US-Thailand FTA Negotiations

[Mike Palmedo]

http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Press_Releases/2006/January/Statement_=
of_Barbara_Weisel_Assistant_US_Trade_Representative_Regarding_the_6th_Round=
_of_the_US-Thail_FTA_Negotiations.html

[snip]

Before concluding, I wanted to touch on one other issue, that is the
pharmaceutical issues under discussion here this week. We have presented
a proposed text and have begun discussions of this issue. While we
welcome the views of all Thais on this and all FTA issues, the claims by
some groups that the FTA will cause drug prices to rise by whole
multiples of their current price is based on a lack of understanding of
the U.S. proposal, runs counter to the experiences of our other FTA
partners, and amounts to scaremongering. This is a serious issue
affecting the welfare of Thai HIV/AIDS and other patients and deserves
serious discussion.

HIV/AIDS sufferers today have hope for the future because of the massive
resources devoted to the development of effective medicines. The
challenge in the future will be to ensure that those in need have access
to a new generation of drugs that combat HIV/AIDS and other health
problems that may emerge. Clearly, having access to newest medicines is
critical. But without any incentives to develop these medicines, there
will be fewer new drugs to access. We believe we have struck a careful
balance between these twin priorities.

[snip]

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Statement of Barbara Weisel Assistant U.S. Trade Representative
Regarding the 6th Round of the US-Thailand FTA Negotiations

01/13/2006

"We have just concluded the sixth round of FTA negotiations with
Thailand. We came here with the objective of making significant progress
so we could be in the position of concluding this agreement by the
spring. We have made progress in many chapters, but still have much work
ahead. The negotiating groups have developed specific work plans and a
path forward for resolving most of the outstanding issues. We will
exchange new proposals in the next several weeks so we can continue to
make progress.

When I return to Washington, I will discuss next steps with U.S. Trade
Representative Portman. We have a significant amount of work remaining
to conclude this agreement within the timeframe we have set. While the
United States believes that this goal is achievable, it will require
both sides to redouble their efforts and to consider creative solutions
to the remaining issues.

We continue to believe that concluding this FTA is important for both
the United States and Thailand and that it will bring a wide range of
benefits to both sides. The United States and Thailand already have a
strong trade and investment relationship, with almost $28 billion in
trade last year. U.S. foreign direct investment in Thailand totaled $7.7
billion. Once completed, the FTA will further strengthen this
relationship, bringing additional benefits to both the United States and
Thailand.

Let me outline some of those benefits.

First, the FTA will eliminate tariffs on trade between the United States
and Thailand. The United States already buys more Thai products than any
country in the world and the FTA=92s new market access will only increase
trade in the future. Once the FTA is in place, no other country will
have better access to the U.S. market. So the FTA will not only help
maintain our important trade relationship, but further boost it. Without
such an FTA, Thailand=92s exporters will lose the competitive advantage
they would gain against some of their fiercest competitors in the region.

But tariffs are only one element of what makes companies and countries
competitive. A second benefit of the FTA is that it will liberalize the
Thai services sector, including telecommunications, financial services,
distribution, and other sectors, and strengthen the protection of
intellectual property. This will further improve the investment climate,
encouraging trade in services and foreign investment. The Thai economy
has grown significantly in the past few decades, and along with it has
come increase in income, life expectancy, and welfare. One of the key
factors in this story has been the success of Thai businessmen in
selling their goods to the global market. But companies around the world
are becoming increasingly competitive every day. The FTA will help boost
the global competitiveness of Thai companies and make Thailand a more
attractive place to do business.

As the Thai Government has made clear, there are difficult steps on the
road to the FTA that must be considered carefully. But they also are
steps that must be undertaken with urgency. Otherwise, Thai companies
will lose out to larger competitors in the region who can compete not
only on price because in part of their lower cost of capital, but also
can provide products to customers more quickly and efficiently because
of their access to state-of-the-art telecommunications, distribution,
and other services. The FTA will encourage relationships between U.S.
services suppliers and Thai businesses and help Thailand in its quest to
remain on the cutting edge.

A third benefit of the FTA, and perhaps the most important, is job
creation. Studies show that increased trade generated by the FTA in
manufactured and agricultural products alone will result in the creation
of tens of thousands of new jobs in Thailand, and along with it higher
living standards. We anticipate increased exports for Thai producers in
a wide range of products, from consumer products and textiles and
apparel to electrical machinery and medical equipment.

The FTA will not only increase jobs in industries producing goods that
traditionally have been traded between our countries, but also in
businesses offering high-technology, knowledge-based goods and services
as well. Let me give an example. Thailand has stated its intention to
become a regional life sciences hub. Thailand has seen an expansion in
the amount of clinical research done here. The FTA could help further
develop this sector, creating hundreds of jobs in an important area in
which Thailand has some real comparative advantages.

We have seen this result in Jordan, another U.S. trading partner with
which we have had an FTA in place for several years. Its clinical
research sector has expanded rapidly after conclusion of our FTA. At the
same time, Jordanian firms have become the biggest pharmaceutical
exporters in their region and their domestic pharmaceutical industry is
growing. This and other liberalization resulting from the FTA has
generated tens of thousands of new jobs in Jordan.

A fourth benefit of the FTA is trade capacity building. We have focused
significant attention during the course of this negotiation on ensuring
that Thailand has the capacity to take full advantage of the benefits
promised by this FTA. We have established 50 projects based on the Thai
Government=92s priorities. For instance, we are working on projects to
foster SME development and potential partnerships with U.S high-tech firms.

Before concluding, I wanted to touch on one other issue, that is the
pharmaceutical issues under discussion here this week. We have presented
a proposed text and have begun discussions of this issue. While we
welcome the views of all Thais on this and all FTA issues, the claims by
some groups that the FTA will cause drug prices to rise by whole
multiples of their current price is based on a lack of understanding of
the U.S. proposal, runs counter to the experiences of our other FTA
partners, and amounts to scaremongering. This is a serious issue
affecting the welfare of Thai HIV/AIDS and other patients and deserves
serious discussion.

HIV/AIDS sufferers today have hope for the future because of the massive
resources devoted to the development of effective medicines. The
challenge in the future will be to ensure that those in need have access
to a new generation of drugs that combat HIV/AIDS and other health
problems that may emerge. Clearly, having access to newest medicines is
critical. But without any incentives to develop these medicines, there
will be fewer new drugs to access. We believe we have struck a careful
balance between these twin priorities.

So, summing up the week, we have seen some important progress in some
areas, but we still face many challenges to concluding this agreement in
the time available. We are determined to do everything in our power to
achieve this goal.

Thank you."



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