[Ip-health] New US Trade Rep And Compulsory Licensing

[Sarah Rimmington]

New US Trade Rep And Compulsory Licensing
By Ed Silverman // December 4th, 2008 // 1:27 pm
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/12/a-new-us-trade-rep-and-compulsory-licensin=
g/

Speculation is growing on Capitol Hill that Xavier Becerra, a Democratic
congressman from California, has been offered the job of US Trade
Representative (see this). The job is important, of course, for its
influence on trade agreements and some consumer activists appear
encouraged because Becerra has, in the past, criticized Bush
administration policies on intellectual property and access to medicines.

This is a hot topic, you may recall, as some countries issue compulsory
licenses for drugs deemed too costly for large swaths of their
populations. A notable example has been Thailand, which angered several
large drugmakers by issuing licenses for AIDS and heart meds (read here
and here). The moves prompted US Trade Rep Susan Schwab to place
Thailand on its Priority Watch twice over the past two years (back
story), even as some Democrats urged her to respect compulsory licensing
(look here).

And so activists are circulating e-mails noting that he has =93previously
signed a number of statements indicating support for a trade policy that
better reflects the health commitments of Doha,=94 a reference to the 2001
international trade agreement in Qatar that solidified the right of
poorer nations to issue compulsory licenses for medications under
certain circumstances.

For instance, three years ago, he signed a letter to former US Trade Rep
Robert Portman that read, in part: =93Our FTAs must uphold, at a minimum,
the essential balance in U.S. law between promoting innovation and
affordable health care and must respect the unique public health needs
of our trading partners. We urge you to ensure that the USTR promotes
these principles in trade negotiations so that (Free Trade Agreements)
do not put affordable health care at risk - at home and abroad.=94

--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/