Tuesday 15 March 2011
Another Leak Confirms Extreme US Demands in Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal
By Professor Jane Kelsey
Leaks continue to beleaguer the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) even as the participating
governments circle the wagons around the negotiating process, said Professor Jane Kelsey, a critic of the proposed TPPA.
The full text of the US chapter on intellectual property has been posted by Knowledge Ecology International (see: http://keionline.org/node/1091).
“This latest leak includes material not contained in the previous leak of the US intellectual property text last month
and confirms the extreme nature of US demands”, Jane Kelsey said.
“For example, according to analysts the US text would stop countries from adopting practices that India and the
Philippines have used to prevent the ‘evergreening’ of patents, which further restricts the production of cheaper
generic medicines.”
This disclosure comes less than two weeks before the Singapore round of negotiations begins on 23rd March.
Intellectual property negotiations are expected to be among the most controversial items on the agenda, where the New
Zealand and US positions on key aspects of the text remain polarised.
“This leak confirms how important it is for New Zealand’s negotiators to remain firm and not buckle to the US, not just
to safeguard our own sovereignty but also for other countries that are caught up in the US’s free trade web,” said
Professor Kelsey.
However, there are suggestions that Australia and New Zealand may support the US position on Geographical Indicators, in
the hope it will benefit their agricultural exporters.
"Ironically, the latest leak comes after the governments involved in the negotiations rejected calls for greater
transparency from prominent civil society groups across Australia, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United States.
Early information from Singapore indicates they are tightening up the already token “stakeholder” access provided during
previous rounds."
“Despite, or perhaps because, of that attitude, the leaks continue to flow. Governments should read the writing on the
wall and open the process to genuine democratic scrutiny,” said Professor Kelsey.
ENDS