Could free trade with US impact Pharmac?
Newstalk ZB, New Zealand
Could free trade with US impact Pharmac?
23 September 2008
Concerns are being raised by the Green Party as to how a free trade agreement with the United States might affect domestic drug-funding agency Pharmac.
It comes as FTA talks between the New Zealand Government and the USA are set to be covered in P4 negotiations.
Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman says they are worried about the future of Pharmac as they believe it will be targeted by the USA in any trade deal. He says it became an issue in the USA’s FTA with Australia.
Mr Norman says US pharmaceutical companies hate Pharmac and want to break it, so his party wants assurances from the Government that the agency will be protected.
