Civil Society Groups Express Concerns with TPP Provisions That Could Adversely Affect U.S. Prescription Drug Programs
Dear Ambassador Froman:
The undersigned organizations appreciate our ongoing dialogue with your staff on prescription drug concerns related to the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement negotiations. While this dialogue has clarified a number of issues where we had questions, we continue to have substantive concerns that the TPP proposal, as we understand it, contains ill-advised provisions that could adversely affect U.S. prescription
drug programs. We are writing today to reiterate these concerns in more detail, which center on the direction of the pharmaceuticals annex and how it would impact Medicare, as well as problematic provisions that the U.S. has proposed for inclusion in the intellectual property chapter. It remains our firm belief that the alteration of our nation’s policies on Medicare reimbursement and patent standards should not be subject to binding provisions in international agreements like the TPP drafted through a process with little public transparency.