# E-DRUG: African TRIPS amendment in African Trade Bill **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [February 18, 1999, 7:18pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-african-trips-amendment-in-african-trade-bill/4468 "1999-02-18T19:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![love](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dec6dc/32.png) [@love](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/love)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 1999, 7:18pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-african-trips-amendment-in-african-trade-bill/4468/1 "1999-02-18T19:18:25Z")
E-drug: African TRIPS amendment in African Trade Bill ---------------------------------------------------------- African TRIPS amendment in US African Trade Bill The following is draft language that Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. has been asked to include in legislation dealing with US African trade. It would prevent the US government from lobbying against African measures to promote access to medicines, so long as those policies were permitted under the WTO's TRIPSs agreement. This would include such practices as compulsory licensing, parallel imports and generic drug substitution, all which are legal under the WTO/TRIPS, and all of which have been subject to intenese bilateral lobbying and by US trade and foreign policy officials. (See [http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/](http://www.cptech.org/ip/health/)). This is the latest draft of the IPR provisions for Jackson's bill: \<-------------begin TRIPS amendment------------------------\> Sec. XXX Requirements Relating to Sub-Saharan Africa Intellectual Property and Competition Law Funds appropriated or otherwise made avaiable to any department or agency of the United States may not be used to seek, though negotiation or otherwise, the revocation or revisions of any sub-Saharan African intellectual property or competition law or policy that is designed to promote access to pharmaceuticals or other medical technologies and such law or policy, as the case may be, complies with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights referred to in section 101(d)(15) of the Urugay Round Agreements Act. \<--------------end TRIPS amendment------------------------\> The Jesse Jackson, Jr. bill is called the HOPE bill, and it is competing against a much different version supported by Clinton Administration and much of the Republican leadership. Public health groups, even if they don't want to get involved in the broader issues, should tell Congress to support the TRIPS amendment, IMO. For more on the African Trade dispute, see the Public Citizen Global Trade Watch page on this at: [http://www.citizen.org/pctrade/Africa/africahome.html](http://www.citizen.org/pctrade/Africa/africahome.html) You can also write Rob Weissman \ 202.387.8030 for more info on this issues. Jamie -- James Love, Consumer Project on Technology P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036 202.387.8030; f 202.234.5176 [http://www.cptech.org](http://www.cptech.org), [mailto:love@cptech.org](mailto:love@cptech.org) -- Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'. Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'. For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.