With Trade Minister, Andrew Robb, currently in Hawaii hoping to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the US-led regional trade pact between 12 nations (including Australia) – the ABC’s Ian Verrender has written a ripper post today in The Drum warning of the dangers lurking in the TPP, which could reduce Australians’ access to affordable medicines and hinder our ability to make laws in the national interest:
As part of the deal, large American pharmaceutical corporations want to extend the life of their patents, arguing that having spent billions to bring their research to fruition they should be entitled to a just reward so they can invest the profits into developing new medicines.
On the surface, it sounds like a reasonable argument.
The irony is that a patent essentially limits free trade. And America is using the auspices of a free trade agreement to push through changes that would inhibit competition by shutting out generic manufacturers. That means consumers will pay more for medicines for much longer.
The other major issue revolves around what is known as investor state dispute settlements. These clauses open the door to foreign companies to launch legal action against a democratically elected government, thereby undermining sovereign rights…
The most celebrated case is being fought between tobacco giant Philip Morris and the Australian government over plain packaging of cigarettes.
Should it win here, it will strengthen its case to continue selling tobacco – an addictive drug that kills vast numbers of people – around the globe…
One of the most worrying aspects of the current round of negotiations, given the potential to entrench the interests of big American corporations, is the extent to which Australian negotiators failed in similar dealings a decade ago when the Australia US Free Trade Agreement was signed…
And yet that deeply flawed deal appears to be the starting point for negotiations with Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Of course, Verrender’s concerns align with those outlined by Fairfax’s Peter Martin and I over the past year year-and-a-half.
But for those of you new to this issue, and seeking to know more about the sell-out currently taking place, begin with Verrender’s article, then follow-up with some of mine (for example here and here) and Peter Martin’s (for example here).
Spread the word and then push back.
