259 / 610
257
edly postponed beyond the originally scheduled dates when the negotiators from poor
countries were not able to stay due to their budgetary restrictions.
24
In general, regional trade agreements are gaining on popularity because countries
are not being able to reach their goals on the multinational playground of the WTO.
25
On a smaller playground, the wealthy countries such as the US have more power to
negotiate rules in the RTAs that would not be acceptable at the WTO.
26
As a result,
Regional Trade Agreements have substantial capacity to exacerbate health inequali-
ties
27
. The TPP, which presents stronger intellectual property protection and investor
rights is a prototype of a new style of regional trade agreement that presents profound
new threats to global health
28
.
The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the most important IP provisions in
Regional Trade Agreements. In doing so, the paper will look at RTAs concluded with
the US as a contracting party. The reason for choosing specifically RTAs that include
the US is their exceptional negotiation power. The paper will examine both already
concluded RTAs and RTAs proposals that have been denied. It will focus on TRIPS-
plus provisions relevant to pharmaceutical patents.
The main argument of the paper is that the US are using their exceptional negotia-
tion power to push through TRIPS-plus provisions that provide much higher stand-
ards of IP rights protection than TRIPS does. It shows the trend of high IP protec-
tion standard is increasing and that the US include the extensive IP-rights protection
especially in Agreements with developing countries. The paper examines, aside from
regional agreements signed by the US, also the most recent mega-regional agreement:
TPP. The final version of the TPP shows that the US had a powerful negotiation posi-
tion on this mega-regional forum, as well. However, not all of the US proposals went
through. On the other hand, this may have been only a part of the US negotiation
strategy.
The paper further argues that the higher IP standards have a negative impact on
public health not only in developing put also in developed countries. The raising prices
of medicines, which are a consequence of TRIPS-plus provisions, limit the access to
health care both in the US and in the signatories of the Agreements.
The paper focuses on the most significant TRIPS-plus provisions. It examines their
impact on national laws and shows how does the TPP deal with these topics.
24
Ibid.
25
R. Aldwin & Thornton P.
Multilateralising regionalism: ideas for a WTO action plan on regionalism.
London: Centre for Economic Policy Research; 2008.
26
Gleeson, supra
note 1507.
27
Deborah Gleeson, “Emerging Threats to public health from regional trade agreements” (2013) 381
Lancet 1507 at 1507 [Gleeson].
28
Ibid.