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Southern African countries have taken firm stand against EFTA demands on intellectual property rights in free trade agreement
7-Mar-2005
A letter sent by South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa confirms that the demand of EFTA Countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to include provisions on intellectual property rights relating to medicines and agriculture in the Free Trade Agreement with SACU (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland) has been rejected.
Clash continues on US-Central America trade deal
2-Mar-2005 IP Watch
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its passage.
Egypt must resist pressures from American pharmaceuticals
23-Feb-2005 EIPR
The current government seems so eager to reach a free-trade agreement with the US that we fear it might be willing to forfeit Egyptian citizens’ right to health.
FTA with USA can cause division among Andean Nations
10-Feb-2005 Prensa Latina
Medicine patents are threatening unity among Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in the negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with the United States
US yet to act on FTA amendments
19-Jan-2005
The United States has yet to follow through on threats to challenge amendments made to the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
A world united? The US approach to the protection of regulatory data
12-Jan-2005 Patent World
The US has been using Free Trade Agreements to push a US-style system for data exclusivity.
Trade agreement hits snag on Guatemala law
10-Jan-2005 Houston Chronicle
The USTR’s Office said Friday that Guatemala violated the terms of a pending Central American trade agreement with a new pharmaceutical data law the United States objects to.
Australia-US FTA goes into effect
2-Jan-2005 The Age
The agreement was first mooted in November 2002 and has been strongly backed by Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who claims it as a major achievement of his government. But critics have derided it as a sell-out to US interests.
IPR: Deprive Doha of all substance
31-Dec-2004
How through bilateral agreements EFTA states restrict access to medicines
US drug makers pressure Canberra
28-Dec-2004
US drug manufacturers are planning a New Year’s push to pressure Canberra to unwind initiatives to cut medicine prices.
The potential impact of US-SACU FTA negotiations on public health in southern Africa
24-Dec-2004 tralac
This Working Paper was written by Tenu Avafia, a tralac researcher, and examines the potential impact of the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between SACU and the United States from the perspective of public health.
Thailand: Academics call for temporary suspension of FTA talks with US
13-Nov-2004 MCOT
Thai academics called on the government on Friday to temporarily suspend ongoing free trade area (FTA) negotiations with the United States, and suggested it to identify impacts on the country’s intellectual property rights and agricultural products.
NGOs request "EFTA countries shall not endanger public health and food security in Southern Africa"
4-Nov-2004 Berne Declaration
Today 57 organizations sent a letter to the trade and foreign ministers of EFTA member states urging them not to include provisions that would restrict access to medicines and farmers rights under the EFTA-SACU FTA
US-Andean talks even worse than feared
3-Nov-2004 Colombia Week
Barring major turns, any deal emerging from the talks will be a disaster for most Colombians.
US concern poses threat to free trade deal
29-Oct-2004
The United States’ continuing concern about Australian laws is threatening to delay the countries’ free-trade agreement.
South Korea: Indefinite general strike planned
25-Oct-2004 GLW
Korean trade union and social organisations have worked together in recent months to stop the Japan-Korea FTA, arguing that it will result in the abolition of more regulations protecting workers rights, and more privatisation of public services. They also say the average citizens’ access to medical treatment and drugs will also be undermined by the FTA’s excuse to “protect” intellectual property rights.
Australia may bow to pressure from US drug firms on FTA
22-Oct-2004 Asia Pulse
Prime Minister John Howard may bow to a concerted campaign by American drug companies against the amendments that the government was forced into accepting upon pressure from the Labor Party.
Stiglitz: New trade pacts betray the poorest partners
19-Oct-2004
In negotiating trade agreements with Morocco, Chile and other countries, the Bush administration has used the same approach that earned us the enmity of so much of the rest of the world. The bilateral agreements reveal an economic policy dictated more by special interests than by a concern for the well-being of our poorer trading partners.
EU demands improved intellectual property protection from Israel
18-Oct-2004 Jerusalem Post
The European Commission has decided to increase pressure on Israel to adopt more stringent intellectual property protection for the benefit of EU pharmaceutical companies.
Thai civil groups want IP off trade-talks agenda with US
12-Oct-2004 The Nation
Civil groups yesterday called for intellectual property (IP) to be excluded from the second round of the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation because of fears it would give unjustified protection to rich IP developers at the expense of Thais.