health

Stop all trade and investment treaty negotiations during COVID-19 crisis and focus on access to medical supplies and saving lives

22-Apr-2020 Friends of the Earth International

An open letter to Trade Ministries and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

US factories in Mexico are still open. As the coronavirus spreads, workers are dying

21-Apr-2020 Los Angeles Times

Maquiladoras which avoid most tariffs because their finished products are for export only, have boomed since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement.

Pandemic profiteers: how foreign investors could make billions from crisis measures

20-Apr-2020 TNI

Governments’ emergency actions in the wake of COVID-19 could prompt a wave of arbitration lawsuits for billions of dollars by multinational corporations and investment lawyers.

Peru warned of potential ICSID claims over covid-19 measures

17-Apr-2020 Latin Lawyer

Peruvian officials have warned that a proposed emergency measure suspending the collection of toll fees on the country’s road network in response to the outbreak of covid-19 could result in multiple ICSID claims.

Protecting against investor–state claims amidst COVID-19: A call to action for governments

16-Apr-2020 IISD

Governments are facing an imminent threat of investor–state arbitration as they take difficult decisions to support public health systems in a time of severe economic stress.

Investment treaty claims in pandemic times: Potential claims and defenses

9-Apr-2020 Kluwer Arbitration Blog

States around the world have taken a variety of measures seeking to stem the spread of COVID-19. It is likely that some foreign investors may seek relief and/or compensation for any losses resulting from State measures.

Epidemic sovereignty? Contesting investment treaty claims arising from coronavirus measures

2-Apr-2020 EJIL:Talk!

Allegedly arbitrary or disproportionate measures, albeit in the public interest, provide regular grist for the mill of investment treaty arbitration.

Covid-19: Why India doesn’t need to worry about investor-State dispute settlement claims

2-Apr-2020 Hindustan Times

In order to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) and to boost the public health care system and preparedness, India has taken several regulatory steps.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Data exclusivity and access to biologics

1-Apr-2020 South Centre

The agreement does not promise that the suspended provision on test data rule concerning biological medicines will remain suspended.

Intellectual property rights: Potential implications of the DCFTA for access to medicine

25-Mar-2020 Observatoire Tunisien de l’Economie

If the intellectual property provisions of the DCFTA are applied, this will have an impact on both the cost of patented medicines and undermine access to affordable medicines.

US trade deal ‘could flood Britain with toxic cosmetics’

23-Mar-2020 The Guardian

Campaigners fear that EU rules banning dangerous chemicals will be relaxed to allow American companies into UK market.

Caroline Lucas: Coronavirus – and why we should all be worried about the US trade deal

10-Mar-2020 Left Foot Forward

Corporate-led trade deals put us all in danger when it comes to tacking future health crises, writes Caroline Lucas MP.

India offers US dairy, chicken access in bid for elusive trade deal with Trump

14-Feb-2020 Reuters

India has offered to partially open up its poultry and dairy markets in a bid for a limited trade deal during US President Donald Trump’s first official visit.

Trump will insist NHS pays more for drugs in trade deal, says ambassador

31-Jan-2020 The Guardian

Donald Trump will put the interests of corporate America first and demand that the NHS pays higher prices for US drugs in a free-trade deal with the UK, the outgoing British ambassador to Washington said.

The bully in the lunchroom: The US moves to weaken Mexico’s new junk food labeling law

30-Jan-2020 IATP

Even though US negotiators were forced by public opposition to remove language explicitly banning front-of-package graphic labels from New NAFTA, other provisions of concern remain in the trade deal.

I helped negotiate a trade deal with the US – I know they will demand an NHS sell off

11-Dec-2019 The Independent

Behind the bluster about “getting Brexit done” is an ambitious long term agenda: to realign our economy and our standards with the interests of American business.

Tories’ dirty war on NHS exposed as 17,000 beds are lost since 2012 reforms

9-Dec-2019 Daily Mirror

Neither Boris Johnson nor Donald Trump deny evidence of secret talks as NHS is under attack by ’market’ ideologues in a privatising policy which began with Thatcher.

Mexico sees progress in talks to revise USMCA, says drug protections to ease

5-Dec-2019 Reuters

Mexico’s government said progress was being made toward revising a new North American trade pact that will sharply reduce protections for biologic drugs.