HAI Europe on EU-India & EU-Mercosur trade agreements
HAI Europe Statement
18 March 2011
All eyes are on the European Union (EU)-India trade agreement, and the
repercussions it will have on access to medicines in India and for the
developing countries that rely on Indian-produced generic medicines.
At the same time, the EU is in the process of negotiating other trade
agreements that could harm or hinder access to medicines, such as this
week’s negotiations between the EU and the Mercosur countries.
The negotiating positions of Mercosur countries will almost certainly be
affected by how India reacts to the EU’s push for new heights of
intellectual property (IP) standards. Indian resistance to EU demands
for over-reaching IP standards will be crucial for the protection of
health and development far beyond its own borders.
EU proposals for IP provisions on data exclusivity, patent extensions,
IP enforcement, and in particular, border measures can have disastrous
effects on access to medicines; weakening competition from generic
medicines and sustaining monopoly prices.
HAI Europe will be closely monitoring the progress of the EU-India and
the EU-Mercosur talks to ensure that access to medicines is not trumped
by trade.
Health Action International (Europe)
For more information please visit http://haieurope.org/work-areas/access-to-essential-medicines-2/eu-ftas-access-to-medicines/
