csua.org/u/eq3 -> www.huffingtonpost.com/james-love/making-enemies-the-ust_b_13603.html
If they did, they might understand why so many people hate us. This week US trade officials are meeting with Thai negotiators in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to hammer out details of a still secret deal between the US and Thailand on what is inaccurately called a "Free Trade Agreement," or FTA. One of the main events will be a presentation by the US of its demands for the intellectual property (IP) chapter of the agreement. The FTA covers many issues, including arcane details of tariffs and other "market access" measures. But the primary US objective in most of these FTAs is to set global norms for the protection of intellectual property. In Thailand, like everywhere else, the US government doesn't really negotiate the IP rules, it just announces the changes a country will have to make in its laws. The message is simple: no IP chapter = no "market access" agreement. Even though the negotiations are secret, the people in Thailand already have a pretty good idea what the US will demand -- policies that will raise the prices of medicines. This is what the US has already achieved in a string of similar agreements (Jordan 2000, Chile 2003, Singapore 2003, Australia 2004, Bahrain 2004, CAFTA 2004, Morocco 2004 and Peru 2005). The details of these policies can be complex, but they are all aimed at blocking generic competition and reducing the effectiveness of government negotiations over drug prices. One such measure would require generic drug companies to conduct their own clinic tests of the safety and efficacy of new drugs -- something that is time-consuming, costly and unethical. The US is also demanding extensions of pharmaceutical patent terms beyond 20 years, procedures that make it easier for foreign companies to obtain patents on medicines, and obligations for linking patents (even those of dubious validity or relevance) to drug registration. Some but not all of these measures are part of US law now. Some seek to justify such policies on the grounds that they are necessary to get other countries to share in the costs of R&D. But many people are now proposing a better way -- global agreements that focus on R&D rather than high drug prices, and which recognize both innovation and access as important policy goals.
Until now, however, the United States government has unfortunately opposed such approaches, stating in October 2003 that the World Health Organization "should not be engaged in considering amendment to existing international legal or trade instruments or new instruments such as an international research and development (R&D) treaty." The Bush administration is being asked to change its mind this year. The WHO is expected to debate these new approaches in May of 2006. In 2004, Thailand had a per capita income of $2,540, compared to $41,400 for the United States. With a per capita income that is 94 percent lower than the United States, it is not surprising that efforts to raise prices for medicine are not popular in Thailand. This week there are big demonstrations about the proposed US/Thai FTA in Chiang Mai On Monday about eight thousand demonstrators took the streets with colorful signs and costumes. On Tuesday some of the demonstrators were beaten and arrested. Maybe people in the US don't care what our government does in Thailand and other countries, and maybe if they did they would agree that raising drug prices worldwide is a good way to advertise our superior political and cultural values and maintain our high standard of living. If successful, the US proposals will kill people, and not for the first time.
agreement with Thailand that created barriers to the use of generic medicines and gutted national price controls on patented medicines. Because of the 1993 agreement, Thailand was very slow to provide effective treatments for AIDS patients, and high prices for drugs (like fluconazole) made it impossible to treat many severe illnesses (such as cryptococcal meningitis). But now we are repeating an ugly period of US trade policy. When you wonder why people hate the United States, think about the Thai FTA. Better yet, do something to stop our government from doing something that will cause so much lasting harm -- to the Thai people, and to our honor.
Eric Schmeltzer: Bush Wants Porn Searches, Let's Give Him Porn Searches Posted Comments : As an Australian I have this to say to the Thais: DON'T SIGN. We are starting to realise what the real cost of our so called free trade agreement is to our much loved and universally admired Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which keeps the price of drugs down to an affordable level for us mere humans, while still allowing the drug companies healthy profits. But they are still not happy and are now pushing to have the anti-evergreening clause in the FTA removed. Posted by: SeekerBoy on January 11, 2006 at 09:44am Is this comment abusive?
flag it One doesn't have to look abroad to see why these countries hate us, I can find it here. Drug manufacturers are no better, in some ways, than drug dealers. They charge exorbitant amounts of money which cannot be supported by manufacturing or even research costs, and then, they spend twice as much on advertising as research. Much of the basic science and even research on drugs occurs on taxpayer dollars, then a drug manufacturer gets the patent for a song, and when the drug comes out, the public, which paid for the basic research gets gouged. That is incomprehensible for me to understand as being permitted to happen. Our government seems to have the priorities backward in respect to protecting the people of the country, as in THE PEOPLE, NOT A CORPORATION. Posted by: TXfemmom on January 11, 2006 at 10:36am Is this comment abusive?
if they benefit mankind they should be provided to people at cost. They should even be subsidized or free for non-US citizens who don't have the privilige of living here. Posted by: wutever on January 11, 2006 at 12:18pm Is this comment abusive?
flag it It would be nice, indeed, if Americans knew more about our policies and actions abroad. In fact, it's essential that Americans begin to understand our real role in the world if we are ever to rebuild the alliances W has destroyed. As long as our media limits international coverage to a few blips at a time, Americans are doomed to hold onto fairytale images of us as a superhero. Most Americans still - over four years after 9/11 - have no clue why we are so hated by the terrorists who attacked us. If they did, of course, they'd have figured out - long before W ever brought us into Iraq - that Bushie policies make us ever more vulnerable to attack. Americans deserve to know - need to know - how their tax dollars are really being spent abroad. When they fully understand this, we can really begin to make the kind of impact in the world Americans support. The ability of the cabal to manipulate the fear of Americans would be rendered moot with real knowledge. And that, of course, is exactly why W and his gang of thugs work so very hard to keep that information from us. Posted by: Raven on January 11, 2006 at 01:22pm Is this comment abusive?
flag it as both a former resident of Thailand and an American citizen, i am shocked and appalled, but truly not really suprised. The irony is that this will only serve to alienate one of our best strategic allies in the western region. Anyone who voted Bush and all of the democrats who care more about re-election then the nation or the world, should be ashamed. BTW i guarantee the crackdown on protesters was ordered by the US Posted by: fmmcfarren on January 11, 2006 at 10:36pm Is this comment abusive?
flag it Dear James, Excellent post, all of what you have said is right, and it is the definition of sinister. Posted by: dapper on January 11, 2006 at 10:43pm Is this comment abusive?
sinister) However much I hate puns, I agree with your sentiment. However, I think the time is starting to come around for the lazy minded to start paying attention to matter of health care. As the baby boomers leave their 40's and 50's and reach the age where their health can no longer be taken for granted, we are going to start to see the wages of our neglect. To me, no ot...
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