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Malaysia too hasty in signing EFTA trade agreement
1-Jul-2025 Consumers’ Association of Penang
Consumers’ Association of Penang express strong disappointment over Malaysia’s rushed signing of a trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, criticizing the government’s failure to address concerns about the intellectual property (IP) provisions.
Remove TRIPS+ demands from the EFTA-Malaysia Free-Trade Agreement
25-Jun-2025 Alliance Sud
The undersigned Swiss NGOs are urging the Swiss government to actively engage within EFTA to drop these provisions known as TRIPS+.
Statement on the voices of Thai civil society regarding the free trade agreement between Thailand and the European Union
24-Jun-2025 FTA Watch
Thai civil society organizations expressing serious concerns about the ongoing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Thailand and the European Union (EU), highlight potential negative impacts on agriculture, food security, environment, labor rights, public health, and other social issues.
Malaysia – EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA) will jeopardise public health, access to seeds & farmers’ rights
17-Jun-2025 Consumers’ Association of Penang
Consumers’ Association of Penang submitted a Memorandum on June 2025 to strongly urge the Malaysian government not to rush to endorse and/or sign the trade deal with EFTA. If a deal is to be signed, such a deal must not contain any TRIPS-plus obligation.
Malaysia-European Free Trade Association partnership agreement could negatively impact many sectors, says CAP
16-Jun-2025 The Star
The proposed Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA) could negatively affect public health, farmers’ rights, and food security in Malaysia. It includes "TRIPS-plus" intellectual property provisions that extend patent monopolies, limit access to affordable generic medicines, and increase drug costs.
Malaysia-EFTA economic partnership agreement (MEEPA) would tie Malaysia’s hands on access to medicines
12-Jun-2025 Info Justice
Malaysian negotiators have accepted intellectual property protections above those required by the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which will adversely affect affordable and equitable access to medicines in Malaysia for generations.
India keeps data exclusivity out of UK FTA to protect local drug makers
13-May-2025 Financial Express
India safeguards its $25B generic drug industry by excluding data exclusivity from the UK FTA, ensuring affordable drug access and faster generic launches.
Why the Kenya/UAE comprehensive economic partnership is bad for Kenya’s health sector
1-May-2025 Citizen Digital
On January 14 this year, President William Ruto and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between their respective countries.
Thailand signed FTA with EFTA: no worries about TRIPs Plus, except Border Measure & IP Enforcement
17-Feb-2025 Access to Medicines
While the Thailand - EFTA agreemnts avoids TRIPS-plus measures that would directly impact medicine access and the universal healthcare system, Thai CSOs group remain concerns regarding border measures and intellectual property enforcement.
Thai CSOs warn the senate’s subcommittee about the ongoing FTA negotiation with the EU on TRIPs-plus provisions harmful to access to medicines
10-Jan-2025 Access to Medicines
FTA Watch representatives warned that stricter IP rules in a potential EU FTA could impact access to medicines, increase healthcare costs, and harm Thailand’s domestic pharmaceutical industry. They also highlighted concerns about EU demands regarding government procurement, plant variety protection (UPOV 1991), and import of remanufactured goods.
Thai CSOs’ letter to the EU chief negotiator regarding concerns over the ongoing FTA negotiation with Thailand
29-Nov-2024 Access to medicines
Civil society and non-government organizations in Thailand oppose the provisions proposed by the EU that will have a vast and adverse impact on access to medicines, universal health coverage scheme, agriculture, food sovereignty, consumer protection, and livelihoods of Thai people.
Civil society groups unite to monitor the 4th round of Thailand-EU FTA negotiation
26-Nov-2024 Thaiplus Net
Thai civil society groups, including FTA Watch and the Thai Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS, have expressed serious concerns over the ongoing Thailand-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Key issues include stricter intellectual property rights, which could impact access to affordable medicines, and potential threats to food security and public health. The groups are urging the Thai government to prioritize public health and environmental concerns over corporate interests.
India-UK FTA: Public health must get priority in trade talks
12-Jul-2024 Policy Circle
The India-UK FTA is expected to promote the free movement of goods and services, significantly impacting access to pharmaceuticals, medicines, and devices. FTAs pose new challenges for public health activists in India, necessitating appropriate actions to monitor and advocate for change. This is particularly important for public health advocates concerned with the broader commercial determinants of health.
I-EU CEPA negotiations hijack democratic rights and ignore potentional impacts on society
4-Jul-2024 Indonesia AIDS Coalition
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) and the Indonesia AIDS Coalition (IAC) criticized the I-EU CEPA, which hijacked the people’s rights to democracy while ignoring the negotiations’ wider impact. The I-EU CEPA negotiations lacked transparency, ignored public aspirations, and did not allow for meaningful participation from civil society groups.
India’s newly amended patent rules threaten affordable medicines in the Global South
2-May-2024 Peoples Dispatch
It is no coincidence that just five days before the amendments were announced, India signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Free Trade Association.
Implications for intellectual property rights following Switzerland and India’s new free trade agreement
27-Mar-2024 Lexology
The FTA contains various provisions on the protection of intellectual property rights that will influence trade between Swiss and Indian companies.
MSF response to signing of EFTA-India trade agreement
15-Mar-2024 MSF
MSF is concerned that certain clauses related to intellectual property in this trade deal could significantly undermine the use of existing public health measures enshrined in Indian patent law.
Swiss trade deal: Is India changing its tune on pharma patents?
27-Feb-2024 SWI
Intellectual property protection for the Swiss pharmaceutical industry has been a key sticking point in negotiations on a free trade agreement with India. Now there seems to be a breakthrough in talks after 16 years. What’s changed?
Thorny clause in ripening India-European Free Trade Association deal may hit generic drug industry
14-Feb-2024 The Hindu
The clause in the draft free trade agreement text could delay access to affordable, generic versions of patented drugs in India by a minimum of six years, according to documents.
New patent rules in India-UK trade agreement will prioritise pharmaceutical profit over public health
13-Feb-2024 AFTINET
The “TRIPS-Plus” provisions in the India-UK Agreement are a dangerous attempt to increase the power of pharmaceutical companies by placing profits before public health.