Tuesday, August 5, 2003
India, Brazil not excluded from TRIPS and Public Health: US
Press Trust of India New Delhi, August 5
The United States on Tuesday set at rest speculation that it was trying to exclude India and Brazil from the contentious TRIPS and public health programme in the WTO fearing that the two countries might take advantage of the agreement.
"No, it is not true .... No question of excluding India and Brazil from the programme," visiting assistant United States trade representative for South Asia E Ashley Wills told reporters.
It is true that pharmaceutical companies in India and Brazil are manufacturing patented and generic drugs. But United States does not want to exclude countries like India, Brazil and China, he said dismissing reports that Washington was trying to keep these countries off on the basis of criteria like per capita income not in terms of dollar but in terms of purchasing power parity.
There were reports that the US was trying to exclude developing countries like India and Brazil to check them from taking advantage of the new WTO window for supply of medicines to poorer countries in the face of their good pharmaceutical manufacturing facility.
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