The Gazette | By Clare Demerse | July 31, 2003
Poor countries may walk away from the next round of WTO negotiations if the organization can't make progress on some key issues, Oxfam spokesperson Mark Fried said yesterday.
Fried, Oxfam's Canadian communications director, said the three-day meeting of 26 trade ministers here made little progress on the two issues developing countries care about most - restrictions on drug patents and agricultural subsidies.
In November 2001, developing countries thought they'd won a major concession: the WTO agreed that public health emergencies matter more than patent protection for drug companies.
But almost two years later, foot-dragging by rich countries means that cheaper generic drugs still aren't available to the poorest countries, Fried said.
"The developing countries say that this is something we thought we had resolved last meeting, in Doha. They say they're not going to (the next round in) Cancun in September unless it's resolved beforehand. It's essential and it's simple. It shouldn't be a big deal."
Fried said U.S. negotiators announced yesterday that they've reached a new deal with brand-name drug makers to distribute medicines in the Third World. The deal could break the impasse for poor countries, but Fried said he'll need to see the full proposal to judge whether it's really a step forward.
"We're concerned that anything that gives more concessions to the multinational pharmaceuticals is likely to make it more difficult to get medicines into the hands of people that need them."
Getting lifesaving medicines to the world's poorest is the main trade issue for Medecins sans frontieres, said spokesperson Carole Devine, who made a presentation to the meeting but isn't sure her message got through.
"We were given three minutes to make a point and ask two questions. We have no idea whether what we said went any farther than that."The Gazette:
