More Thai protests on US FTA talks

Thousands of people have protested at the Thailand-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where negotiators carried out their sixth round of talks since mid-2004, with both sides hopeful of an agreement within the next few months (Marketletter January 16). The protestors claimed the FTA would undermine national sovereignty, result in higher product prices, and cut off access to generic drugs for local patients. US officials insisted that negotiations over patent issues would not result in reduced access to drugs by Thai patients, a key point of contention.

Thai negotiators should consider any US demands regarding intellectual property rights carefully, according to Somkiat Tangkitvanich of the Thailand Development Research Institute, who stated the US typically required trading partners to agree conditions for IP protection, particularly for pharmaceutical patents, that went beyond existing international agreements. For example the US-Chile FTA included a number of restrictions on generic drugs and unlicensed imports, which the USA was likely to also require in a Thai agreement.

Ms Neena Moorjani, a spokeswoman for the US Trade Representative, replied at a press conference by saying: "patent issues related to pharmaceuticals would be discussed, but protesters were misguided in their claims that a deal would result in higher drug prices. The FTA will not increase the price of generic or innovative drugs. Our objective is to promote development of new drugs while ensuring continued access to all medication, so Thai HIV/AIDS and other patients will continue to obtain the newest and most effective drugs."