Dairy and drugs last hurdles to TPPA

The 12 countries involved in negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement set a goal of wrapping it up by 2012. Three years on, they were still negotiating.

AS ANOTHER day drew to a close in Atlanta, negotiations still had not wrapped up over a Pacific trade deal but an announcement was scheduled for early today.

A press conference was expected to announce the TransPacific Partnership Agreement had been agreed in principle after a series of delays over the past three days, largely brought about by several countries digging in their heels over patent protections for biologic drugs. Australian officials told media was a ‘‘red line issue’’ that

it would not change. The United States was seeking 12-year patent protections but subsequently watered down the proposal to eight years – but Australia wasn’t prepared to budge on anything more than five years.

Reports out of the United States suggested those issues had been dealt with and the last hurdle in the negotiations was market access to dairy – a significant sticking point for New Zealand.

It was understood Trade Minister Tim Groser was making one last push for a better deal for New Zealand.

‘‘One source suspected that the Here’s some of what would have been under discussion:

Possible annual gains of $5.5 billion by 2025. Critics set the figure at about $1b and say it is doubtful if there would be any net benefit at all. A door to a trade deal with the world’s largest economy, the US. Potentially a substantial reduction in, or removal of, barriers to trade between TPP members, increasing the volume and efficiency of trade. About 40 per cent of NZ trade is with the countries in the TPPA.

A comprehensive freeing up of dairy trade in the TPPA could markedly increase the amount of international dairy market open to trade, from about 8 per cent of all international milk production now to 20 per cent.

John Key has said it is ‘‘highly probable’’ patents on medicines would run longer under the agreement, meaning the Government would have to pay for the original drug rather than the generic ‘‘for a little bit longer’’. US and Canada reached a deal on dairy market access that focuses on products that are priorities for the US but not New Zealand,’’ Inside US reported.

‘‘The US priorities would likely include fresh dairy products like liquid milk or yoghurt, while New Zealand products butter.

‘‘As a result, New Zealand is likely to press Canada to provide more market access on such products.’’

Officials is focused more on like milk powder and

were

optimistic

the TPPA would get over the line.

A press conference was intially set down for 9am yesterday (NZT). It was extended by two hours and then pushed back to 3pm, before being postponed indefinitely.

Deputy Prime Minister Bill English told television’s Paul Henry that in these situations ‘‘all the hard issues are dealt within the last five minutes, so to speak’’.

‘‘Any deal will be better than what we’ve got. In Canada and Japan that’s a very high threshold but we’re not going to be able to get that,’’ he said.

Prime Minister John Key acknowledged this week that the deal fell short on dairy but said on Saturday that it was still likely to be ‘‘bigger’’ than the China free trade agreement – a deal that is worth $20 billion a year.

‘‘If we just do a straight comparison of China and what I currently know with TPP, the TPP still looks very, very attractive.’’

A staunch critic of the TPPA, Auckland University law professor Jane Kelsey, said the Government was doing a deal ‘‘shrouded in secrecy’’.

Kelsey told TVNZ that even if a deal was reached overnight, New Zealanders would not get to see the detail for another 30 days.

‘‘We believe overnight the US and Australia have reached some sort of accommodation around these so called biologic medicines that they’re now presenting to other countries, but whereas Australia, Peru and Chile have been very outspoken about all this, all we’ve hear from our minister is more access for dairy.’’ An announcement on the TPPA negotiations was due at 2am (NZ time). Go to stuff.co.nz to read the latest.