[Ip-health] TACD letters on seizures of generic medicines by the Dutch customs authorities

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
Dear All,

Letters were sent today to the European Commission (DG Enterprise, DG Trade=
,
DG Taxation and Customs Union, and DG SANCO) to ask for clarification about
the recent interception of a shipment of generic medicines by the Dutch
customs authorities, which undermines the free trade of goods and
contradicts international public health policies.

These letters are co-signed by the Chairs of the TACD IP Working Group,
James Love and Jill Johnstone, and by Cynthia Vogeler from Consumentenbond
and Sophie Bloemen from Health Action International.

We will follow-up with the Commission.

(see the letter sent to DG Enterprise below)

http://www.tacd-ip.org/files/seizures/TACD_seizures_DGenterprise.pdf
http://www.tacd-ip.org/files/seizures/TACD_seizures_DGsanco.pdf
http://www.tacd-ip.org/files/seizures/TACD_seizures_DGtaxud.pdf
http://www.tacd-ip.org/files/seizures/TACD_seizures_DGtrade.pdf



-----------------------------------

Mr G=FCnter Verheugen
European Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry
European Commission
Directorate General Enterprise and Industry
Rue de la Loi, 200
1049 Bruxelles - Belgium

Cc: Mr Martin Terberger, Head of Unit Pharmaceuticals
      Ms Sabine Atzor, Policy Officer - Unit Pharmaceuticals


9 February 2009,


Dear Commissioner,

According to a number of reports, Dutch customs authorities have seized
several shipments of generic drugs from India generic manufacturers that
were temporarily stored in the Netherlands as goods in transit to developin=
g
country markets.  TACD is concerned that this action undermines the trade
liberalization provisions of the WTO and the WTO TRIPS accord, as they
relate to the necessary freedoms to transport legitimate goods to legitimat=
e
markets, in a world where territorial patent rights could otherwise present
barriers to trade.

TACD notes that in the 2001 Doha Declaration, as members of the WTO, the
members of the European Union recognized "the gravity of the public health
problems afflicting many developing and least-developed countries," and
stressed "the need for the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) to be part of the wider
national and international action to address these problems."  In Paragraph
4 of that Declaration, WTO members agreed that "the [TRIPS] Agreement can
and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO
Members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote
access to medicines for all."

TACD also notes that the members of the European Union have supported the
2008 World Health Organisation resolution WHA61.21, which states that
"international negotiations on issues related to intellectual property
rights and health should be coherent in their approaches to the promotion o=
f
public health,"  and calls upon member states to "take into account, where
appropriate, the impact on public health when considering adopting or
implementing more extensive intellectual property protection than is
required by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights."

TACD would appreciate a clarification of Dutch and EU policy toward the
treatment of patent rights for goods in transit, including but not limited
to medicines that are in transit to developing country markets. TACD also
asks the Commission to disclose and explain the proposals the Commission ha=
s
been negotiating in the context of the European Partnership Agreements
(EPAs), Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Association Agreements, The
Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA), and other trade agreements on the
topic of border measures, provisional measures, and goods in transit.

Finally, to what extent has the EU consulted with the public health
community and legitimate generic drug suppliers to determine if current EU
rules and practices are consistent with the policy of facilitating access t=
o
medicines?

We also respectively ask for clarification with DG Trade, DG Taxation and
Customs, and DG SANCO.

Sincerely,

TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD) Working Group on Intellectual
Property
European Co-Chair Jill Johnstone, ConsumerFocus
US Co-Chair James Love, Knowledge Ecology International (KEI)

cc:  Cynthia Vogeler, Consumentenbond
     Sophie Bloemen, Health Action International (HAI)


-------
Anne-Catherine Lorrain
Intellectual Property Policy Expert
The TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)
Avenue de Tervueren, 36 Bte 4, 1040 Bruxelles, Belgium
aclorrain@consint.org
Mob (Belgium): +32 473 99 97 92
Tel: +32 2 740 28 17, Fax: +32 2 740 28 02
www.tacd.org
www.tacd-ip.org/blog