- Globalization means free trade, right? That's what we're
told. Would it surprise you then to learn that, in fact, a central plank
of this week's talks in Cancun is exactly the opposite? That the rich
countries
of the world want to impose trade rules that say lesser-developed economies
can no longer use a significant aspect of their competitive advantage when
trading with richer countries?
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- In the murky world of corporate financial warfare, truth
is frequently the first casualty of power politics.
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- While proponents of the World Trade Organization hailed
its recent agreement to allow poor countries to supersede WTO patent rules
and import cheap generic drugs, opponents see the deal, at best, as flawed
and illustrative of the contradictory nature of corporate globalization.
At worst, the deal is just another step along the path of forcing the
less-industrialized
world into perpetual subservience to the interests of wealthier nations
and huge corporations.
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- Fearful that the ministerial meetings in Cancun would
be a total failure, with poor nations frustrated about negotiations, the
U.S. tossed a few bones to the huddled masses. But, these are the same
U.S. negotiators who openly stated in Forbes magazine that their position
on generic drug importations was directly controlled by the industry's
lobby group, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America
ó PhRMA. Not surprisingly then the final agreement looked as if
it had been crafted by industry.
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- The intricacies of the accord could require poor
countries
to make large investments in administration and legal procedures, funds
that they don't have, to gain any benefits. Also, the accord contains so
many conditions that many believe it will continue to stop drugs reaching
those who need them. Ellen 't Hoen, of MÈdecins Sans FrontiEres
explained that it is "designed to offer comfort to the U.S. and the
Western pharmaceutical industry.""
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- The intensity of American opposition to a minor change
of patent law that would allow millions of people access to life-saving
HIV-AIDS drugs, demonstrates the inherent nature of corporate
globalization.
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- While advocates of the WTO and other corporate-sponsored
global treaties claim economic advancement will result from increased
international
competition, in fact, they are set on a course that would undermine free
markets by increasing monopolies through strengthened patent
protection.
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- A central goal of the WTO, through the Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights TRIPs agreement, is to harmonize
"upwards" the world's patent protection to those of the U.S.
The reason our government and other G7 nations are proponents of the TRIPs
agreement is because it will benefit corporations based in the world's
richest countries. The World Bank estimates that if a global agreement
on intellectual property rights goes fully into effect the developed
nations
would gain the most with the U.S., Germany, Japan and France standing to
gain, mostly at the expense of China, Mexico, Brazil and others. Some claim
that the U.S. would abandon the WTO if it weren't for the TRIPs
agreement.
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- In other words, the favoured part of the WTO is that
which limits competition.
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- It's not only at the WTO where anti-competitive
monopolies
reign. The Central American Free Trade Agreement, currently under
negotiation
between Central American governments and the U.S., also has increased
patent
protection as a focus. The Bush administration is demanding these countries
increase their patent protection beyond even the 20 years mandated under
U.S. law. Increased patent protection is also at the forefront of the Free
Trade Area of the Americas negotiations as it was when Mexico signed the
North American Free Trade Agreement. These agreements, as well as other
bi-lateral agreements the U.S. may sign, will supersede the recent WTO
agreement on patent relaxations, making the WTO agreement meaningless for
many poor countries.
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- Canadians have also been caught in globalization's patent
net. As a recently released "secret" document highlights, the
Mulroney government, with a nudge from the Reagan administration, increased
patent protection from 17 to 20 years prior to signing the first free trade
agreement. Similarly, the Canadian government succumbed to a WTO decision
and banned the stockpiling of generic drugs in anticipation of the end
of a patent. Skyrocketing drug costs that have harmed Canadian health care
are the result.
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- During the 19th century, when western European nations
were competing to develop their economies, innovation often meant
"stealing"
the best ideas from neighbours. This facilitated competition and
innovation.
Backward economies could leap ahead by the creative use of the latest
technology.
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- But, as rich countries outsource manufacturing, patents
are becoming ever more important to G7-based corporations. U.S. patents
issued per year have nearly tripled over the past two decades.
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- Rather than building a system that will encourage growth
and innovation, we are writing rules to ensure the dominance of a few large
corporations based in the world's richest countries.
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- - Yves Engler is a member of the popular mobilization
against the WTO.
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- http://www.rabble.ca
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