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EFTA-Thailand negotiations: NGOs appeal to UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health
20-Jun-2005
17 NGOs from Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein submitted today a request to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health. They urge him to warn the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) not to restrict access to affordable generic medicines in Thailand.
Doctors told to be wary of big drug firms
17-Jun-2005
Doctors have been warned not to fall into the fierce marketing trap of multinational drug companies which have a ’’hidden agenda’’ to sell expensive products.
United Nations children’s committee warns about FTA threats
7-Jun-2005 IP-health
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in recommendations made public this week warned that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) may negatively affect access to affordable medicines and social services for the poor.
Zoellick’s visit fails to ease Thai concerns
5-May-2005
Thailand was Robert Zoellick’s first stop on a week-long visit to Southeast Asia to discuss economic, security and political issues.
IT, biotech, pharmaceuticals, agro food are items for enhanced India-EU cooperation
3-May-2005 Assocham
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India sees tremendous scope for enhancing economic ties with Europe and has mooted a four pronged strategy for expanding India’s trade basket with the enlarged EU in areas such as information technology & communication, biotech & pharmaceuticals, agro foods processing and textiles.
AIDS drugs dog US-Southern Africa trade deal
1-May-2005 Reuters
The United States and the Southern African trade bloc are set to revive free trade talks next month, but analysts say intellectual property rights for urgently needed AIDS drugs remain a stumbling block.
Thailand-US FTA: "Whatever we have to sacrifice must be sacrificed, if that helps get a better deal"
26-Apr-2005 Focus
The third round of Thailand-US free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations ended on 8 April with great disappointment for civil society activists because people’s demand and concerns were cast aside.
AIDS patients see life, death issues in trade pact
23-Apr-2005 LA Times
Public health experts fear that hope might fade for thousands of the region’s chronically ill if the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, is approved this year.
Calls for more flexible US position in free trade talks
21-Apr-2005 IPS
During the ninth round of negotiations of a free trade agreement between the United States and three South American nations in the Andean region — Colombia, Peru and Ecuador — Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo called for ”greater flexibility” on the part of Washington.
Cashing in on our pharmaceutical expertise
11-Apr-2005
One important provision in a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement could be the establishment of a Medicines Working Committee. This committee would facilitate cooperation, collaborations and joint ventures between Australian and Chinese pharmaceutical regulators, clinical trial and biotechnology researchers, as well as generic manufacturers.
US firm on IP rights protection
9-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
US chief negotiator Barbara Weisel assured that the FTA agreement would not affect drug prices in Thailand.
US hails progress in Thailand talks
8-Apr-2005
US negotiators on Friday wound up a third round of negotiations with their Thai counterparts on a proposed free trade agreement, saying they were pleased with the progress made.
1,200 march to urge dropping of intellectual property from US-Thai deal
6-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
More than 1,200 Thai farmers, slum dwellers and HIV/Aids patients from 30 civic groups staged a six-kilometre walkathon yesterday from a temple in Jomthien to the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel to drive home their demand that intellectual property rights be removed from free trade talks with the United States.
Silence on Thai-US FTA broken: 1,500 people said NO to FTA!
5-Apr-2005
It took over a thousand and five hundred people blowing their whistle for the Thai government to come out and listen to its people. But did Mr. Nitya Pibulsongkram, head of the Thai negotiating team for the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), actually hear them?
Thai-US FTA will make medicine unaffordable
4-Apr-2005
A Democrat Party MP has expressed fresh concerns over the possible social and economic implications of the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between Thailand and the US.
Warning on cost of vitamins under US FTA
1-Apr-2005 The Age
The cost of vitamins could rise by 8% under the Australia-United States free trade agreement, vitamin makers have warned.
CAFTA’s profit motive
31-Mar-2005 Washington Post
The fundamental reality of most of the US’ trade accords is that they are designed to maximize corporate profits no matter the cost to the peoples of the signatory nations.
Sandinistas say FTA bad for health
31-Mar-2005 Prensa Latina
Sandinista National Liberation Front legislators will present a minority report against ratification of the FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with the United States, Nicaraguan Congresswoman Alba Palacio said.
Thai govt urged to remove medicines from FTA deals
31-Mar-2005 TNA
Non governmental organizations (NGOs) yesterday made an impassioned plea to the government to remove the subject of medicines from negotiations on the proposed Thai-US free trade area (FTA), warning that Thai patients suffering from chronic conditions could be hit with sky-high costs for medication.
Open letter from civil society on the US-Thailand FTA negotiations
29-Mar-2005 FTA Watch
On 4-8 April 2005, negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Thai and the US will take place in Pattaya. Following two previous rounds in Hawaii, the US is expected to submit demands on remaining issues, the most important of which is the issue of patents. This is a sign-on statement to call on the Thai government to halt the third round of negotiations in order to conduct a through review of the outstanding points and the negotiating position towards the FTA.