U.S. Pressure Against Countries’ Public Interest Policies

Global Access to Medicines Program Director Peter Maybarduk delivers testimony at USTR’s 2014 Special 301 hearing.

Public Citizen Statement on the 2014 Special 301 Report

April 30, 2014

U.S. Chamber, Big Pharma Miss Their Target on India Trade, But U.S. Watch List Still Bullies India, Other Developing Countries Over Health Policies

Statement of Peter Maybarduk, Director, Public Citizen Global Access to Medicines Program

Note: Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual Special 301 Report. The 301 Report places countries on a watch list for practices the U.S. government believes reflect “inadequate” intellectual property (IP) protection, even when these policies safeguard important public interests including health.

The Special 301 Report’s watch list is a morally repugnant and unnecessary U.S. government practice, which annually bullies countries for implementing polices that promote access to lifesaving medicines despite serious questions about the legality of such unilateral threats under international law. The 301 watch list should be discontinued in its entirety.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Big Pharma and other Big Business groups have mounted a misleading campaign to push the U.S. government to name India a “Priority Foreign Country,” citing disputes over pharmaceuticals and patent policies. This elevated watch list status could have led to trade sanctions and would have damaged relations between the countries.

Today, the Chamber campaign has missed its target. The United States has declined to designate India a Priority Foreign Country. Big Pharma overreached, trying to accomplish with lobbying power and bully tactics what it could not with evidence.

Nevertheless – and unacceptably – the USTR has again placed India on the “Priority Watch List,” with nine other countries, and announced a special “Out of Cycle” review of India intellectual property policy. This is a shameful form of harassment. The USTR’s assessment includes lengthy criticism of India that bends much too far to Big Business demands.

India’s patent system plays by the global rules and promotes public health. The Obama administration should support, rather than attack, India’s key role helping facilitate global access to lifesaving medicines.

The USTR includes more than 30 countries a year in its Special 301 Report (37 this year), including close U.S. allies, grouped into the categories “Watch List” (27 countries) “Priority Watch List” (10 countries, including India) and the most serious characterization, “Priority Foreign Country” (no countries this year). A Priority Foreign Country listing can be a step on a path to trade sanctions. The U.S. International Trade Commission also has undertaken a review of India trade practices, scheduled to conclude later this year.

More analysis about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is available at http://www.fixtheuschamber.org/.

Resources

• Comments of Public Citizen for the 2014 Special 301 Review
• Video of Global Access to Medicines Program Director Peter Maybarduk’s testimony at USTR’s 2014 Special 301 hearing
• Public Citizen Comments to the United States International Trade Commission Re: Investigation No. 332-543, Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policies in India: Effects on the U.S. Economy
• Memo: Patents in the TPP: Proof of Utility at the Time of Filing — U.S. Proposal Could Undermine Canadian Law; Support Eli Lilly Attacks
• Public Citizen blog post on the 2013 Special 301 Report