NEWS OF THE WEEK INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
WTO DRUG PACT BYPASSES PATENTS Plan allows poor countries to obtain inexpensive generic medicines
T
HE WORLD TRADE ORGANI-
zation (WTO) has amended its intellectual property guidelines to allow poor countries to import less expensive, generic versions ofpatented drugs for diseases such as H I V / A I D S and malaria. Amendments approved late last month to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement will enable drugmakers in India, Brazil, and other countries to
Supachai
CLIMATE
manufacture drugs patented in the U.S. and elsewhere, so long as the drugs are exported only to needy nations. Previously, W T O allowed poor countries to circumvent patents only if they ordered from domestic producers. "The final piece of the jigsaw [puzzle} has fallen into place, allowing poorer counties to make full use of the flexibilities in the W T O ' s intellectual property rules," W T O Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi explains.
CHANGE
EPA SAYS NO TO REGULATING C0 2 Agency claims it needs congressional authority to act on greenhouse gas
E
PA HAS DENIED A I 9 9 9 PETI-
tion from environmental groups asking the agency to regulate carbon dioxide from motor vehicles under the Clean Air
CLEAN AIR? Despite concerns about global warming, EPA will not regulate C02 emissions from cars. 14
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/ SEPTEMBER
8,
2003
Act. The agency provides two primary reasons for its Aug. 28 decision: The Clean Air Act does not give EPA authority to regulate C 0 2 for climate-change purposes, and setting up emissions standards for motor vehicles is not appropriate at this time. "Congress must provide us with clear legal authority before we can take regulatory action to address a fundamental issue such as climate change," says Jeffrey Holmstead, assistant administrator for EPAs Office ofAir & Radiation. The decision has no impact on regulations affecting manufacturing plants. Chemical industry trade groups, including the American Chemistry Council, had no comment on the decision.
Prescription drugmakers, concerned about patent protection, have criticized efforts to get lowcost drugs to poor countries for failing to address issues of distribution security The final round of negotiations at W T O centered on developing mechanisms to prevent such abuses. The amended agreement can be employed only to address public health problems. It charges importing countries with the responsibility for preventing abuses. Shannon Herzfeld, senior vice president for international affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers ofAmerica, says the association is pleased that W T O addressed distribution issues and arrived at a final version of T R I P S in time for W T O ' s global trade talks in Cancun, Mexico, starting this week.—RICK MULLIN
Environmental groups are highly critical of EPAs decision. "Refusing to call greenhouse gas emissions a pollutant is like refusing to say smoking causes lung cancer," says Melissa Carey, climate policy specialist with Environmental Defense. "Climate change is happening. It's time to stop the denial and start focusing on solutions." Mark Wenzler, environmental counsel for the National Environmental Trust, says the Administration has ample authority to regulate C 0 2 from motor vehicles. During the Clinton Administration, two EPA general counsels, Jonathan Z. Cannon and Gary S. Guzy decided that C 0 2 is a pollutant under the Clean Air Act and thus subject to regulation. Joseph Mendelson, legal director for one of the petitioners, the International Center for Technology Assessment, says: "EPAs decision makes it clear that the Bush Administration refuses to take any concrete steps to fight global warming. We will challenge this determination in court."—BETTEHILEMAN HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
