President Obama and Prime Minister Shinawatra (Photo by Pete Souza)
On Sunday, the United States and Thailand announced during President Obama’s visit to Thailand that the two countries will “convene the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Joint Council, which serves as a foundation for economic cooperation in this partnership… President Obama welcomed Thailand’s interest in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which will be subject to Thailand’s undertaking of the necessary domestic procedures. The two leaders looked forward to reconvening the TIFA Joint Council as an important step to strengthen our trade ties and consult on the requirements for Thailand’s eventual participation in high-standard agreements, including the TPP.”
The USTR website vaguely defines a TIFA as an agreement that “provide[s] strategic frameworks and principles for dialogue on trade and investment issues between the United States and the other parties to the TIFA.”
On November 13th, the Bangkok Post had reported that the nations were scheduled to announce that Thailand had “agreed to join negotiations” for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement. This raised alarm among advocates for access to medicines in Thailand and around the world, many who had opposed the unsuccessful US-Thailand FTA negotiations in 2004-2006. The leaked Thai-US FTA proposal on patents and data exclusivity proposed by the United States included many provisions in the leaked TPP proposals, such as second-uses patents, patent extensions, data exclusivity, linkage, and a ban on pregrant opposition. (Brook Baker wrote a quick summary of problematic provisions in the Thai-US FTA back in 2006). Civil society rallied against this trade agreement, chasing the negotiations out of Cheaing Mai in 2006.
Last week, 14 Thai civil society groups wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Shinawatra warning of the consequences of the IPR provisions:
Access to medicines and the national public health system will be disadvantaged as a result of the extension of the intellectual property rights protection regime, data exclusivity, limits on the use of flexible mechanisms within the TRIPS agreement, patents over surgical practices and diagnostics, and limits in negotiation and control over the price of medicines under the Universal Health Care Scheme, etc. These will have a direct impact on the government policy to reduce inequality of access to health care.
The patenting of animal and plant species will lead to the monopolization of biodiversity and genetic resources that could result in farmers paying more for seeds etc. This goes against the government policy to enhance the welfare of the farmers.
Also last week, seven U.S. civil society groups wrote an 0pen letter to President Obama:
We write as you depart for Asia to ask that you drop any demands that Thailand or other countries facing major public health crises change their intellectual property rules at the cost of the health of their people. …Intellectual property provisions in this free trade agreement, already a source of substantial controversy, would put the price of life-saving medicines in Thailand out of reach of most Thais. Mr. President, as public health and consumer groups, we know these policies could cost tens of thousands of lives and we ask that you change course.
The Bangkok Post wrote an editorial warning against TRIPS-Plus IPR rules in the TPP:
Thai activists already have warned the government about one severely dangerous aim of TPP. The Partnership calls for drastic new rules on patents, specifically on medicines. Behind the obfuscation, TPP would restrict – effectively end – the right of Thailand to produce life-saving medicines at an affordable price. Since 2007, the United States has punished Thailand for doing exactly that legal thing, by sticking the country on its Special 301 Watch List as a patent pirate. In fact, Thailand has strictly stuck to international law on the issue, law that the TPP wants to change.
Later in the week, as protestors opposed to Thailand joining the TPP greeted Obama when he landed in Thailand, the Foreign Ministry sought to clarify that the country was not ready to join the agreement. The Nation reports that Foreign Affairs Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said “The Thai government has to proceed according to Article 190 of the Constitution and other related processes before joining in the negotiations.”
