Pacific trade talks deal is close

Negotiations progress after breakthrough on drug monopolies

A DOZEN Pacific nations closed in on a sweeping free trade pact yesterday in Atlanta after a breakthrough over how long a monopoly pharmaceutical companies should be given on new biotech drugs.

The issue has pitted the US, which has argued for longer protections, against Australia and five other delegations who say such measures will strain national health-care budgets and keep life-saving medicines from patients who cannot afford them.

The compromise would preserve Australia’s existing five-year protection period but would also offer flexibility on longer drug monopolies, potentially creating two tracks on future drug pricing within the trading bloc, a person close to the negotiations said.

The terms of that compromise, hammered out after a third all-night round of negotiations between Australia and the US, still had to find support from other nations such as Chile and Peru, other people involved in the talks said.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said he could not reveal details of the compromise on biologics “until everyone has signed up and we are all on the same page”.

But officials were increasingly confident of completing a deal that has been in negotiations for five years. Japan’s Economy Minister Akira Amari said he had called Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to notify him that a deal was within sight.

The US offers 12 years of exclusivity for the clinical data used in developing drugs like cancer therapy Avastin, developed by Genentech, a division of Roche in order to encourage innovation. Australia insisted on five years of protection to bring down drug prices more quickly.

The trade pact, the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), would lower tariffs and set common standards for 12 economies led by the US and Japan, which together account for 40 percent of global output.

US President Barack Obama has pushed for a deal as a way to open markets to US exports, including financial services and pharmaceuticals. US officials have also promoted the deal as a counterweight to China and that rising power’s vision for Asia.

The talks in Atlanta were extended by 24 hours to a fifth day yesterday. A handful of protesters unfurled a “Stop TPP” banner at the Westin hotel, where the talks were taking place, yesterday morning. They were escorted away by security and police.

By Saturday, the US and Japan had reached agreement in principle on trade in vehicles and automotive parts in talks that had also included Canada and Mexico. – Reuters