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E-DRUG Gore endorses compulsory licensing and parallel imports of
pharmaceuticals
Today the Congressional Black Caucus made available
copies of an exchange of letters between James Clyburn, the
Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus (written on June 24)
and Vice President Al Gore (written on June 25), regarding US
trade policy toward South Africa.
The Clyburn letter is one page and the Gore letter is 2.25 pages.
In my opinion, the most important part of the Vice President's
letter is the following statement in the second paragraph. It
reads:
I want you to know from the start that I support South
Africa's efforts to enhance health care for its people--
including efforts to engage in compulsory licensing and
parallel importing of pharmacueticals--so long as they are
done in a way consistent with international agreements.
(Letter to Representative James E. Clyburn, June 25, 1999)
This statement seems to suggest a major change in US government
policy. To put this into perspective, right now the US government
has trade actions against 11 countries for parallel importing
(copyright and pharmaceutical cases) and 14 countries on
compulsory licensing. We have a special "out-of-cycle" review
of South Africa on both compulsory licensing and parallel
importing of pharmaceuticals, and another out-of-cycle review against
Israel on both issues.
On the other hand, a word of caution is recommended. The letter
continues to frame this in terms of "so long as they are done
in a way consistent with international agreements," as if, for
example, there is any doubt about the legal basis for parallel
imports, or as if there is any doubt about the South African
government's often expressed willingness to abide by WTO Article
31 TRIPS rules on compulsory licensing. Moreover, the remainder
of the letter provides a highly selective and self serving account
of the Vice President's actions, leaving out key details such as
the withholding of tariff reductions over the
pharmacuetical dispute, the subequent decision by the
Administration to tie the availability to the outcome of
negotiations between drug company executives and the South
African Ministery of Health over its Medicines Act, and the recent
April 30, 1999 decision to begin a new round of trade pressures
against South Africa, including the Special out-of-cycle review to be
concluded in September.
Tonight there is a much anticipated demonstration against the Vice
President at Philadelphia fund raiser, where these issues will be
raised yet again.
Jamie Love
--
James Love, Director, Consumer Project on Technology
I can be reached at love@cptech.org, by telephone 202.387.8030,
by fax at 202.234.5176. CPT web page is http://www.cptech.org
--
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