A recent draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal would give U.S. pharmaceutical firms unprecedented protections against competition from cheaper generic drugs, possibly transcending the patent protections in U.S. law.
POLITICO has obtained a draft copy of TPP’s intellectual property chapter as it stood on May 11, at the start of the latest negotiating round in Guam. While U.S. trade officials would not confirm the authenticity of the document, they downplayed its importance, emphasizing that the terms of the deal are likely to change significantly as the talks enter their final stages. Those terms are still secret, but the public will get to see them once the twelve TPP nations reach a final agreement and President Obama seeks congressional approval.
Still, the draft chapter will provide ammunition for critics who have warned that TPP’s protections for pharmaceutical companies could dump trillions of dollars of additional health care costs on patients, businesses and governments around the Pacific Rim. The highly technical 90-page document, cluttered with objections from other TPP nations, shows that U.S. negotiators have fought aggressively and, at least until Guam, successfully on behalf of Big Pharma....
Some of the most contentious provisions involve “patent linkage,” which would prevent regulators in TPP nations from approving generic drugs whenever there are any unresolved patent issues. The TPP draft would make this linkage mandatory, which could help drug companies fend off generics just by claiming an infringement.
Like I've been saying, neoliberalism = thug rule. It has nothing to do with liberalizing markets but rather power. If there were still any doubt about the Obama Administration being corrupt, this puts it to rest.
The is also the antithesis of economic liberalism based on competitive markets.
The is also the antithesis of economic liberalism based on competitive markets.
In an April 15 letter to Froman, Heather Bresch, the CEO of the generic drug company Mylan, warned that mandatory patent linkage would be “a recipe for indefinite evergreening of pharmaceutical monopolies,”....Competitive markets are supposed to favor consumers by establishing a fair price through price discovery.
The critics say that extending linkage to biologics—which can have hundreds of patents—would help insulate them from competition forever.....
...Malpani of Doctors Without Borders said U.S. negotiators have basically functioned as drug lobbyists. The TPP countries have 40 percent of global economic output, and the deal is widely seen as establishing new benchmarks for some of the most complex areas of global business. Malpani fears it could set a precedent that crushes the generic drug industry under a mountain of regulation and litigation.
“We consider this the worst-ever agreement in terms of access to medicine,” he said. “It would create higher drug prices around the world—and in the U.S., too."U.S. negotiators have basically functioned as ... lobbyists." That's their job. They are just doing what they are tasked to do by the administration. Look at who Obama appointed Commerce Secretary. Penny Pritzker was a major backer of Barack Obama in his political career.
In 1989, Ms. Pritzker's late uncle, Jay Pritzker, purchased a 50% stake in Hinsdale, Illinois-based Superior Bank of Chicago from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which had taken over the bank when it failed.[13] Penny Pritzker was Superior's chairperson from 1991–1994. In 1993, the bank "embarked on a business strategy of significant growth into subprime home mortgages," according to a report by the United States Treasury Department.[13] In 2000, it became clear the bank was faltering. In the months leading up to 2001, the Pritzkers tried to work out a recapitalization plan.[13] In July 2001, FDIC seized the bank after the recapitalization could not be resolved.[14][15][16] Subsequently, the Pritzker family reached an agreement with regulators to pay $460 million.[13][17][18][19] — WikipediaThen there is US Trade Representative Michael Froman, a Rubin protege.
On May 2, 2013, Froman was nominated to serve as U.S. Trade Representative. Financial documents provided to the Senate Finance Committee showed he had nearly $500,000 in an offshore fund at Ugland House on the Cayman Islands, which Obama had once described as “the biggest tax scam in the world.” [12] In 2013 congressional testimony, Rep. Kevin Brady, Republican from Texas, criticized the EU low carbon fuel standard, where oil from tar-sands is classified by itself due to its higher carbon polluting impact compared to regular oil as a "discriminatory, environmentally unjustified" trade barrier, to which Froman responded, "I share your concerns," followed by a description of his work to "press the Commission to take the views of . . . U.S. refiners under consideration." Froman's role as in the drafting of classified trade deals (made public by WikiLeaks) is under scrutiny by lawyers and politicians alike.[13] The U.S. Senate confirmed Froman in a 93-4 vote on June 19, 2013.[14] One of the four dissenting senators was Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who faulted Froman for "refusing to commit to [...] standards of transparency in trade talks set by the George W. Bush administration".[13] — Wikipedia
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