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India FTAs & medicines

Japan, EU jockey for position in effort to ink India trade pact
2-Nov-2009 Japan Times
Whichever FTA is signed first — Japan’s or the EU’s — will put pressure on the other pair of negotiators to reach pragmatic compromises. The race for India is on.
Indo-Jap FTA: Data exclusivity threat to generics
29-Sep-2009 DNA
Amid fresh talks on the India-Japan free trade agreement (FTA), concerns are being expressed about certain measures that could hamper generic drugs and access to medicines.
EU seeks to settle trade row with India amicably
6-Sep-2009
The European Union on Friday said it would prefer to resolve two commercial disputes with India without engaging in a legal battle at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The first dispute involves seizure of Indian generic drugs in transit at some EU-based ports, including Amsterdam, which were bound for certain third world countries, on the grounds of patents infringement.
Free trade deals to push up cost of medicines
6-Sep-2009
The bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) India is negotiating with Japan and the European Union (EU) can lead to a sharp rise in the cost of medicines, a network of civil society groups has warned.
EU demands in EU-India FTA could adversely affect access to drugs
29-Jun-2009 TWN
The European Union’s demands on India to take on higher intellectual property (IP) standards, if adopted, could spell disaster for the supply of low-cost generic medicines, undermine India’s development and set a significant precedent for the future of IPR protection globally, cautioned Dr Carlos M. Correa, an expert on IP and the WTO TRIPS Agreement.
Vicious sting in the tail of FTAs
24-Jun-2009 Business Standard
What is slowly emerging is the beginning of a composite oppositition to FTAs in India.
Negotiation of an EU-India FTA: Will India accept TRIPS-plus protection?
9-Jun-2009 EED
The negotiating texts so far known do indicate that India is resisting many aspects of the EU demands of higher IPRs standards. Analysis by Carlos Correa.
Protesters detained outside European Commission office
18-Mar-2009 Times of India
As the sixth round of negotiations related to the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) got underway on Tuesday, the police detained a couple of representatives of public interest groups during a peaceful protest in front of the office of the European Commission (EC).
Strong EU trade provisions on IP seen as threat to poor nations’ medicines access
19-Feb-2009 IP Watch
Efforts by the European Union to insert strong provisions on pharmaceutical patents in free trade agreements it is negotiating with India, Colombia, Peru and ASEAN could imperil access to medicines in developing countries, global public health activists have alleged.
India seeks easy entry for drug cos in Japan
2-Feb-2009 Economic Times
India is set to ask Japan to facilitate the entry of Indian pharmaceutical companies in the world’s second-largest drug market. The matter will be raised when the two sides discuss a bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
Japan trade pact talks move forward
19-Nov-2008 Business Standard
The negotiations for the India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) have gained momentum with the two sides moving towards a deal on allowing Indian companies that make low-cost drugs to sell in Japan.
Asean free trade concerns still bug RP pharmas
28-Sep-2008 PDI
Fearful fo the ongoing to realize a single market for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations by 2015, Filipino-owned pharmaceutical firms have asked the government to ensure that safety nets are in place for the local industry. Some are more concerned about the India-ASEAN FTA.
Ranbaxy deal may help India’s entry into Japan
16-Jun-2008 Financial Express
The Daiichi Sankyo-Ranbaxy Laboratories deal has come as a shot in the arm for India’s Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) negotiations with Japan. Indian pharma companies have been unable to break into Japan, the world’s second largest drug market, due to the country’s stringent sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and environmental norms.
Indian pharma cos see hope as US retreats on data exclusivity
15-May-2007 Economic Times
A section of India’s generic drug industry has claimed that its ability to export generic drugs to over a dozen countries with which the US is planning FTAs will increase, if a “conceptual agreement” reached last week by the US’ House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Bush administration is ratified and implemented.
Data exclusivity regulations in India
18-Oct-2006
New Indian data exclusivity patenting regulations will severely hinder generic AIDS drugs manufacturing in India, and thus less people will have access to AIDS therapy globally. The world’s poor overwhelmingly make up this population with lack of access. Because of this, moral human rights and distributive justice approaches should compel India to take an equity-oriented approach in access to AIDS medicines and reject data exclusivity regulations currently under discussion.
Patent or patient? How Washington uses trade deals to protect drugs
23-Aug-2006 Financial Times
The controversy over the impact of bilateral trade agreements on public health poses particular difficulties for the Geneva-based WHO, which is gearing up for the highly political election of a new director-general.
South African Custom Union planning for FTA with India
5-Mar-2006 PTI
The South African Customs Union is in talks with the Indian government for signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to enhance the trade and business between both the countries.
India set to get access to Bimstec markets
22-Jun-2005
India and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) member countries plan to sign a deal to provide access to each others’ markets for the pharmaceuticals and services sectors.
IT, biotech, pharmaceuticals, agro food are items for enhanced India-EU cooperation
3-May-2005 Assocham
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India sees tremendous scope for enhancing economic ties with Europe and has mooted a four pronged strategy for expanding India’s trade basket with the enlarged EU in areas such as information technology & communication, biotech & pharmaceuticals, agro foods processing and textiles.