Kolkata, Feb 13 (IANS) With the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement expected in weeks, experts have warned if India gives in to US "pressure" to join the deal,it will "damage" the access of medicines in developing nations.
The TPP is a regional free trade agreement being negotiated by 12 countries across the Asia-Pacific region - Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US, and Vietnam.
The proposed accord would cover nearly 40 percent of global economic output and one-third of all world trade. Passage of the TPP is one of the primary goals of the current US administration's trade agenda.
"The US. will probably seek to have India join up later. It will be very damaging for access to medicines... very very bad," Deborah Gleeson, public health lecturer at Australia's La Trobe University told IANS at the ongoing 14th World Congress on Public Health here.
Gleeson, who works on trade agreements, is the convener, Political Economy of Health Special Interest Group, Public Health Association of Australia.
She said India's partnership in TPP would infringe on its globally-acclamed strict patent regulations.
"It would affect patents for new uses and new methods of using existing drugs and the section 3D of India's patent act which restricts the use of patents that can be granted. If India was to sign up it would have to give that way and data exclusivity and patent term extension," she said.
The TPP intends to enhance trade and investment among the partner countries, promote innovation, economic growth and development, but globally there has been criticism of the negotiations, largely because of the proceedings' secrecy and the agreement's widespread scope.
"When the Congress conference resolution comes out, there will be a paragraph on the pressure that the US is putting India under and a call for India to resist the pressure and for US and other countries to stop pressuring India - the whole world depends on India-retaining its strong patent laws and giving in," she revealed.
Gleeson also stressed India agreeing to TPP norms would be detrimental to its generic medicines industry.
Echoing this, Laetitia Rispel, a public health expert from South Africa, said: "India really restricts the number of patents that are granted and that is important in providing medicines to other developing countries."
The dream of Indians living in America to get a green card was shattered again. In the House of R
The Government of India and the Army are going to take a big step to make the Line of Action Cont
America: Trump was taken to White House bunker amid violent demonstrations
The United States has reached the White House for violent protests against the assassination of b
Indian trio Manu Bhaker, Ishaan Singh, and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal in the women's 25m p
The weather started changing before Holi. The heat wave is being witnessed in most of the states
In the last 24 hours, 2 lakh 64 thousand 202 corona infections were found in the country. 1 lakh
Country will have to wait for Ram temple now, know what the General Secretary of the Trust said
New Delhi: After the end of the ongoing lockdown in the country, the construction of Ram Mandir i
The country's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticized the delay in safeguarding all
India launches fourth navigation satellite
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), March 28 (IANS) India successfully put into orbit its fourth navig
IPL 2022 Rajasthan Royals vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: In the Indian Premier League (IPL), the match b