[Ip-health] Pharma amps up pressure on Thailand

[robert weissman]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/31Jan2008_biz004.php

Bangkok Post
January 31, 2008

Thailand could face sanctions after lobbying by drug firms

Phusadee Arunmas

Thailand risks US trade sanctions following a recent report that
American drug companies will press the US government to take tough
action against the country, officials from the Intellectual Property
Department warned yesterday.

Puangrat Asavapisit, the department's director-general, said she was
informed that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
(PhRMA) which met last week in Singapore, had threatened to press
Washington for tougher action against Thailand.

The action would involve the United States Trade Representative (USTR)
downgrading Thailand from the current Priority Watch List (PWL).

Priority Foreign Country (PFC) is the last and most severe US copyright
protection category and subject to trade sanctions.

The USTR reviews the status of IP protection for its trading partners
every year and classifies problem countries in four categories:
Monitoring, Watch, Priority Watch and Priority Foreign Country.

US authorities were not available for comment on the report.

However, Mrs Puangrat said she was afraid that the USTR would pressure
the US Congress over the next six months to eliminate trade preferences
that currently allow some Thai imports duty-free access to the US.

Mrs Puangrat said that the threat came amid a recent report that the
outgoing military-appointed government would proceed with the
implementation of more compulsory licensing (CL) for cancer drugs."We
hope that the new government handles this issue carefully, as PhRMA is
the most influential organisation in US politics, and on top of that the
US economy is now in poor condition," said Mrs Puangrat.

In a bid to prevent adverse effects, the department is preparing to
clarify the country's position to the USTR before the proposed deadline
on Feb 15.

 From 1991-93, Thailand was on the PFC as it had yet to implement its
own intellectual property protection law. However, during that period,
Thailand did not face US trade sanctions, as the two countries were
engaged in the negotiations for a World Trade Organisation agreement.