LATIN AMERICAN DRUG FIRMS PROTEST US, REGIONAL FTA PLANS

Local pharmaceutical firms represented by pan-Latin American association ALIFAR have condemned moves to ease trade with the US across the region. Although the putative Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) now seems a distant prospect, Central American companies have claimed that Central American Free Trade plan CAFTA represents a direct threat to national sovereignty.

The tone of the criticism largely falls into line with the immediacy of regional free trade deals, countries' wider trade policies and the diplomatic position of each country as regards US corporate interests. Representatives of Argentina's drug industry urged governments to "readjust" their strategies toward local companies, claiming that local companies drive innovation and investment. However, given the country's currently generics-friendly, protectionist mood, the truth of this claim remains to be seen.

Guatemalan lobby groups have claimed that CAFTA will damage access to low-cost -- mainly copied -- ARVs. Late last year, Guatemalan legislators voted to repeal Decree 9-2003, which modified intellectual property laws to provide five years' data exclusivity on registered medicines. The move has since been overturned and would also be overridden by CAFTA's stronger patent provisions. However, there is little consensus over whether the agreement will be able to strengthen intellectual property laws significantly beyond those in TRIPS.

Aside from ALIFAR's denunciation of such free trade deals as "neoimperialism," it now seems that at least in terms of CAFTA, US legislators now hold the initiative. Meanwhile, Guatemalan president Oscar Berger has reacted to the claims, insisting that CAFTA represents an "opportunity" and stating that there is little reason to fear the treaty.