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<p class=MsoPlainText>"As negotiators meet today in Brussels to hammer out
the last details of the EU-India Free Trade Agreement, we urge them to learn
the lessons of past trade deals gone wrong for access to medicines, and not
accept the harmful provisions that would prevent India from protecting its
public health measures.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>I hope the negotiators today really take a moment to stop
and think about the millions of lives their decisions will impact. People
– not just in India, but right across the developing world – need
the access to affordable medicines that India provides, and the provisions in
the agreement as it currently stands would slowly choke off that lifeline.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>We’re requesting the Indian Commerce Minister, Mr.
Anand Sharma and the negotiators – don’t include these provisions
that will trade away so many lives before you sign on the dotted line.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>- Dr Jennifer Cohn, Medical Director, Médecins Sans
Frontières Access Campaign<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Background: As the negotiations have progressed in recent
years, certain provisions damaging to access to medicines have been removed
from the proposed deal, including, for example, attempts to extend the duration
of patents. However, the intellectual property (IP) enforcement and investment
provisions are still seriously concerning, particularly as an early April
deadline to sign the agreement draws ever nearer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Leaked text of the IP enforcement provisions are widely
available on the internet. See <a href="http://keionline.org/node/1681">http://keionline.org/node/1681</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Enforcement provisions could potentially block the export
of generic medicines from India – a lifeline for millions of people
across the developing world. By allowing medicines to be delayed, seized,
detained and destroyed, enforcement provisions would open the door to abusive
practices from multinational corporations. They could also draw in third
parties, including suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients used to
produce generic medicines and treatment providers like MSF, potentially
embroiling them in court cases simply for buying or distributing generic
medicines. See attached MSF Briefing Document, January 2013 - "The Enforcement
Provisions of the the EU-INDIA FTA, Implications for Access to
Medicines". <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>Measures on investment could see the Indian government
sued by multinational companies for billions of dollars in private arbitration
panels if national laws, policies, court decisions or other actions are
perceived to interfere with their investments – for example, if an Indian
patent office rejects or overrides a patent on a medicine to increase access. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText>IP and investment measures are deemed concerning enough
for an Indian Parliamentary Standing Committee to have decided to examine the
impact of free trade agreements on access to medicines. Worryingly, Indian
negotiators may chose to concede, hastily conclude the talks and rush signing
the agreement – which will become binding and set a precedent for future
trade agreements – before the parliamentary review and recommendations
are concluded.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Manager (India)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Access Campaign<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Medecins Sans Frontieres<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>First Floor, C 236 Defence Colony, New Delhi, 110 024<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Tel: +91 11 46573730, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal>Telefax: +91 11 46573731<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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