The TPP kills

by Latindadd, 16-2-16

Translated by Anoosha Boralessa (Feb 2016). Not reviewed by bilaterals.org or any other organization or person.

It’s no joke. The Transpacific Treaty on Economic Cooperation (the English acronym for which is TPP) recently signed by 12 countries in the Pacific Ocean, including Mexico, Peru and Chile on this side of the Pond, has brutal consequences for access to medicines.

It is calculated that a poor woman with breast cancer would not be able to access a very effective medicine created today, but only in 25 years. Only those who have money will be able to do so and this is so in the case of several serious illnesses; especially in countries such as Peru, with such precarious health systems. After patents, test data with greater protection in the TPP and additional time that is required to manufacture a biosimilar (generic) medicine accessible to the purse of poor people, it will already be too late for many patients.

It appears a falsehood that in the middle of the 21st century, world leaders have such low consciences. They prioritize accumulation and profits of transnationals in the hands of a small group of families in the world over the lives of millions of people.

But the TPP does not only affect health but also access to information through limiting the use of internet. In addition, it further sidesteps state sovereignty by giving greater prerogatives to international tribunals when a dispute between transnationals and the State arises.

Finally, it is a treaty against integration, since it isolates Brazil and China in their respective regions. It is about bilateralization and privitization of trade and investment in favour of the United States and a few corporations.

It is not all over: despite its signature on 4 February in New Zealand, the TPP still needs to be approved by the national Parliaments. We hope that a serious debate has ensured that this mega trade and investment deal is a still-born.