[Random-bits] Bush USTR head Bob Portman violates executive order that protects Africa from trade pressures on medicine patents

[James Love]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/bush-ustr-head-bob-
portma_b_16574.html

Bush USTR head Bob Portman violates executive order that protects
Africa from trade pressures on medicine patents
March 1, 2006 The Huffington Post
James Love

Yesterday I was discussing with trade officials and public health
groups from Southern Africa the most recent round of negotiations
involving the United States Trade Representative (USTR). There are
lots of distressing things to report, but one very basic issue is
this. Rob Portman, the head of the USTR, is violating a May 10, 2000
Presidential Executive Order, which prohibits the USTR from
pressuring countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to have rules for
intellectual property rights on medicines that exceed the norms set
out in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

In other words, we are asking countries in Southern African, which
are suffering from an AIDS pandemic of biblical proportions (http://
data.unaids.org/Publications/Fact-Sheets04/
FS_SubSaharanAfrica_Nov05_en.pdf) , to go beyond the WTO rules, so
that Pfizer, Merck, GSK and other big companies can charge higher
prices. This is not only morally repugnant, it is illegal.

Background

On May 10, 2000, then President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order
13155. The key language in the executive order was this:

---------
Section 1. Policy. (a) In administering sections 301-310 of the Trade
Act of 1974, the United States shall not seek, through negotiation or
otherwise, the revocation or revision of any intellectual property
law or policy of a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country, as
determined by the President, that regulates HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals
or medical technologies if the law or policy of the country: (1)
promotes access to HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals or medical technologies
for affected populations in that country; and (2) provides adequate
and effective intellectual property protection consistent with the
Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS Agreement) referred to in section 101(d)(15) of the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)(15)).
---------

This executive order did not come about by accident. It was the
result of long and determined campaign by activists from the US
public health and AIDS community, who were seeking to overturn years
of aggressive efforts by United States trade officials to hike
intellectual property rules for medicines in Africa and elsewhere,
such as this six year campaign against the newly democratic South
Africa government. (http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/sa/sa-timeline.txt)

When Bush first became President, Joe Papovich, then the head of
intellectual property policy for the USTR, and his boss, then USTR
head Bob Zoellick, persuaded the White House to keep the Clinton
Executive Order, much to the surprise and chagrin on big pharma
executives like Pfizer head Hank McKinnell. McKinnell and other top
pharma CEO's subsequently began meeting with Karl Rove, seeking to
override Zoellick on issues concerning trade and medicines. By 2002,
Zoellick was more or less bypassed on policy making on medicine and
trade. But Africa still benefited from the 2000 Executive Order. But
now it appears that Portman is openly ignoring it, telling African
trade officials they can't get a new trade agreement with the USA
unless they agree to the tougher terms of bilateral IP agreements
between the US and other non-African countries.

I asked USTR about this issue. USTR agrees that the 2000 Executive
Order is still on the books. They can't explain how USTR can ask for
tougher (than the WTO TRIPS Agreement) IP rules in Africa, and comply
with the Order.  (http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?
id_article=3289)

This is an important issue. I don't see how pushing for higher prices
on patented medicines in Africa is consistent with US values, and I
don't see how it improves our standing in the world community. It
will also lead to needless suffering and death, in a region that
already suffers a lot.


---------------------------------
James Love, CPTech / www.cptech.org / mailto:james.love@cptech.org /
tel. +1.202.332.2670 / mobile +1.202.361.3040

"If everyone thinks the same: No one thinks."  Bill Walton