CAFTA Helps Powerful U.S. Drug Industry

Guatemala -- with an economy the size of Bismarck, N.D., and a population poorer than any U.S. community -- seems to be the Chosen One. The Washington Post's Harold Meyerson pointed out that the U.S. trade representative has become "the sales rep for the pharmaceutical industry." The USTR, in fact, has an office, senior officer for Asia-Pacific and pharmaceutical policy, dedicated to assisting the already powerful U.S. drug industry. Last year, the Guatemalan Congress passed legislation to allow the sale of generic drugs to give its citizens more consumer choice and to bring down the price of name-brand drugs. Consumers in Guatemala cheered them on. Then the U.S. drug industry and its allies in the Bush administration moved in. Even though international trade law and World Trade Organization rules allow the sale of generics in member countries, the U.S. trade representative told Guatemalan leaders that there will be no Central American Free Trade Agreement unless the Guatemalan government gives the drug companies what they want. Not surprising, and against the vociferous opposition of millions of Guatemalans, the government repealed its own public health law. This kind of strategy -- presidents named Bush teaming up with the prescription drug industry -- is not a new thing. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush told Canadians that, unless they repealed their compulsory license law that ensured significantly lower prescription drug prices for Canadians than Americans were paying, Canada would be excluded from the North American Free Trade Agreement. Ottawa repealed its law and soon after Canada was included in the NAFTA agreement. Full article: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/230255_cafta28.html [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on June 28, 2005]

Note: http://seattlepi.nwsour...