ABC’s The Business aired a great segment last night on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed regional trade deal between Pacific Rim countries, including Australia, which if it goes ahead could be a huge win for big pharmaceutical companies but a blow for generic drug makers and public health resources.
After years of secret negotiations, WikiLeaks recently shone a light on the TPP via the draft chapter on intellectual property rights, which included a “Christmas wishlist” for pharmaceutical companies, including the proposal to extend patent protection and strengthen monopolies on clinical data.
It’s a huge risk to Australia’s world class public health system, which risks cost blowouts via reduced access to cheaper generic drugs and reduced rights for the government to regulate medicine prices. It also risks stifling innovation in the event that patent terms are extended too far.
There is also the risk that the TPP could insert an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause into the agreement, which could give authority to major corporations to challenge laws made by governments in the national interest in international courts of arbitration.
Clearly, the TPP has been designed to establish a US-style regional regulatory framework that meets the demands of its major export industries, rather than Australians.
As a bare minimum, the text of the TPP (and other trade agreements) should be released for public and parliamentary scrutiny before they are signed. This is public policy 101.
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