EU Commissioner Lamy misuses deal on access to medicines for propaganda
EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy already started to misuse the TRIPs deal: "This is a crucial demonstration that the Doha Development Agenda is more than just fine words"
Erik Wesselius
Corporate Europe Observatory
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30 Aug 2003 11:03:00 GMT
WTO seals deal on cheap drugs for poorer countries
By Richard Waddington
GENEVA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organisation (WTO) approved a deal on Saturday to let poorer nations import cheaper generic drugs to fight killer diseases such as AIDS and malaria after days of emotionally charged debate.
The deal plugs a gap in world trade law and allows poorer countries unable to manufacture medicines domestically to override international patents and import cheap generic drugs when they need to.
"The decision that you have just taken is an historic agreement for the WTO," WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi told member states.
The accord, given a final seal of approval by the WTO's 146-member executive General Council on Saturday, waives patents owned by multinational firms that are protected by trade rules.
"I find a special satisfaction in the fact that the decision will be of particular value to the smaller and poorer countries... in Africa and elsewhere," Supachai said.
"It will enable them to make full use of the flexibilities in the WTO intellectual property rules in order to deal with the diseases that ravage their peoples."
An impassioned plea on Friday by African states, who said that thousands were dying as trade envoys bickered, got the talks back on track after a deal agreed on Thursday by the main negotiating body on medicines ran into last-minute problems.
"It's especially good news for the people of Africa who so desperately need access to affordable medicines," said Kenyan Ambassador Amina Mohamed. "We have been waiting anxiously for this."
The United States and European Union also applauded the deal, which allows a country that lacks capacity to produce medicines for itself to obtain them from abroad by making importing generics a right protected by the WTO.
HEALTH ACTIVISTS DISAPPOINTED
But health activists attacked the accord, hammered out by the United States, Brazil, India, Kenya and South Africa, saying it imposed too many conditions on countries seeking to use it.
"Today's WTO agreement that is ostensibly intended to get drugs to the poorest countries does not provide a workable solution," Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors without Borders) and Oxfam said in a joint statement.
The pact aims to balance the need for poor states to fight health problems with the demands that WTO members set aside patents only to import generic medicines "in good faith" and do not abuse the system for commercial gain.
It allays concerns of the United States, home to many drugs majors, that waiving patents could be abused for commercial gain by generic producers such as Brazil and India.
The United States had feared they could turn out highly profitable lifestyle remedies such as Viagra for sale in richer developing nations and act as a disincentive to the research and development necessary to produce life-saving drugs.
Steps will be taken to ensure medicines sold to poor countries do not turn up on rich country markets, and a number of richer developing countries — such as Mexico and South Korea — will agree to use the system only in dire health emergencies.
"It (the pact) will put appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that the solution will be used only for its intended purposes," U.S. Ambassador Linnet Deily said.
Existing world trade rules allow countries with their own drugs industry to waive patents and issue compulsory licences to generic manufacturers when they face health emergencies, but say nothing about states without their own drugs industry.
WTO states have battled over the issue for nearly two years.
A deal before a trade meeting in the Mexican resort of Cancun in less than two weeks was seen as vital to giving new momentum to the WTO's struggling Doha Round of free trade talks.
"This is a crucial demonstration that the Doha Development Agenda is more than just fine words," EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said in a statement.
EU hails cheap drugs deal ahead of WTO Cancun meet
30 Aug 2003 10:20:32 GMT
BRUSSELS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - The European Union welcomed on Saturday a World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal to let poorer nations import cheaper generic drugs to fight diseases such as AIDS, saying it was a breakthrough ahead of crucial trade talks.
The agreement comes less than two weeks before the world trade body meets in the Mexican resort of Cancun to boost the struggling Doha Round of free trade talks aimed at lowering barriers across the globe.
"This deal may have taken too many months to complete but finally it shows the WTO can respond flexibly and pragmatically to the concerns of developing countries," European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said in a statement.
"With less than two weeks before we meet in Cancun, this is a crucial demonstration that the Doha Development Agenda is more than just fine words."
Allowing poorer states unable to manufacture medicines domestically to override international patents and import cheap generic drugs when they need to is seen as vital to beating major killer diseases such as AIDS and malaria.
But it also means setting aside patents owned by multinational firms which are protected by trade rules.
The deal was hammered out by the United States, home to some of the world's largest drugs concerns, generic drugmakers Brazil and India, and Kenya and South Africa, representing poor countries where AIDS has killed millions.
World Trade Organization - Decision removes final patent obstacle to cheap drug imports
Date sent: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 10:40:20 +0200
Now on the WTO website:
DECISION REMOVES FINAL PATENT OBSTACLE TO CHEAP DRUG IMPORTS
WTO member governments broke their deadlock over intellectual property protection and public health today (30 August 2003). They agreed on legal changes that will make it easier for poorer countries to import cheaper generics made under compulsory licensing if they are unable to manufacture the medicines themselves. • Press release:
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres03_e/pr350_e.htm
Decision on implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and public health:
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/implem_para6_e.htm
The General Council Chairperson's statement:
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news03_e/trips_stat_28aug03_e.htm
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UNE DÉCISION SUPPRIME LE DERNIER OBSTACLE LIÉ AUX BREVETS POUR LES IMPORTATIONS DE MÉDICAMENTS BON MARCHÉ
Les gouvernements Membres de l'OMC sont sortis de l'impasse sur la protection de la propriété intellectuelle et la santé publique aujourd'hui (30 août 2003). Ils sont convenus de modifications juridiques qui permettront aux pays les plus pauvres d'importer plus facilement des médicaments génériques meilleur marché produits sous licences obligatoires s'ils ne peuvent pas fabriquer ces médicaments eux-mêmes. > • Communiqué de presse:
http://www.wto.org/french/news_f/pres03_f/pr350_f.htm (temporairement en anglais)
Mise en œuvre du paragraphe 6 de la déclaration de Doha sur l'accord sur les ADPIC et la santé publique:
http://www.wto.org/french/tratop_f/trips_f/implem_para6_f.htm
The General Council Chairperson's statement:
http://www.wto.org/french/news_f/news03_f/trips_stat_28aug03_f.htm (temporairement en anglais)
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UNA DECISIÓN ELIMINA EL ÚLTIMO OBSTÁCULO DE LAS PATENTES A LAS IMPORTACIONES DE MEDICAMENTOS BARATOS
Hoy 30 de agosto de 2003 los Gobiernos Miembros de la OMC salieron del punto muerto en que se encontraban las negociaciones sobre la protección de la propiedad intelectual y la salud pública. Convinieron en modificaciones jurídicas que facilitarán que los países más pobres importen medicamentos genéricos más baratos fabricados al amparo de licencias obligatorias si no cuentan con la capacidad de fabricar esos medicamentos por sí mismos. • Comunicado de prensa:
http://www.wto.org/spanish/news_s/pres03_s/pr350_s.htm (de momento sólo en ingles)
Aplicación del párrafo 6 de la declaración de Doha relativa al acuerdo sobre los ADPIC y la salud pública:
http://www.wto.org/spanish/tratop_s/trips_s/implem_para6_s.htm
The General Council Chairperson's statement:
http://www.wto.org/spanish/news_s/news03_s/trips_stat_28aug03_s.htm (de momento sólo en ingles)
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