When final negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement failed in Hawaii in late-July, and then proponents failed to bring negotiators together to strike-up a deal by the end of August, I was convinced that the TPP was dead and buried, given Canada heads to the polls next month and the ramp up of the US presidential election campaign.
It appears I was premature, with negotiators arriving in Atlanta this week in a last ditch effort to conclude the TPP, with Australian Trade Minister, Andrew Robb, claiming that agreement is within “imminent reach”.
Sugar and dairy access remain key sticking points, along with motor vehicle assess between Mexico, the US, Canada and Japan.
There is also the critical issue of enhanced protection for pharmaceuticals, in particular the fight over so-called “biologics,” which are an important new class of medicines produced from living organisms. The US first pushed for 12 years of data exclusivity before reducing its bid to 8 years, whereas Australia (amongst others) wants to keep protections to 5 years, as applies currently.
And let’s not forget that the TPP would include a so-called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provision, which could enable foreign corporations to sue governments over laws/regulations that lower their profitability.
As noted by Peter Martin on Friday, more than 150 health experts including 60 professors of medicine have written to Trade Minister Robb urging him to resist tougher intellectual property protections that could add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. These groups are also opposed to ISDS.
In a similar vein, the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network has sought council with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to convey that Australia should oppose stronger monopolies on biologic medicines, draconian copyright rules, and foreign investor rights to sue governments.
Let’s hope that Trade Minister Andrew Robb and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull do not sell Australians out by agreeing to a sub-standard deal in a desperate bid to get the TPP over the line. We should know the outcome, one way or another, by the weekend.
