Wish we'd taken photos of the other logo ripoffs over the years. Since they aren't copying the logos down to the pixel, I wonder if these are considered copyright infringements..? In any case, LDCs have until at least 2016 to implement the vastly complex and far-reaching provisions and agreements in WTO. Cambodia joined in 2003. It was significant for both for the country and the WTO. The accession highlighted Cambodia's full commitment to major regional and international organizations governing international economic relations. For the WTO the negotiation was its first LDC (along with Nepal) since its inception in 1995. Cambodia wanted accession mainly because of the 2005 deadline on the garment industry, ending the quota regime … [Read more...]
Free Trade and Pharmaceuticals
The average NGO or civic group does not have adequate capacity to actively participate in the increasingly complex policy and legal environment of global trade. This puts decisions and actions taking place in corporate headquarters and multilateral assemblies out of reach of the ordinary citizen. Here is the short-version international legal framework for essential medicines, proprietary drugs, and CAFTA.From GATT to the WTOThe end of WWII saw the creation of the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to regulate international economic cooperation. These are known as the "Bretton Woods" institutions, named for the town in Vermont, USA, where negotiations took place. The package of trade rules which came out of this … [Read more...]
Free Trade: Patents versus Patients
It's been several years since US-backed Big Pharma sued South Africa for obstruction of profit when it bypassed patent laws to provide cheaper generic medicines for its burgeoning AIDS epidemic. The suit was retracted under furious backlash from advocacy groups worldwide. That battle has since stepped up with the ascendancy of IP (intellectual property) and trade imperatives. At issue are patent regimes affecting life-saving pharmaceuticals. It is critical to have flexibilities in global IP rules that accommodate situations whereby a country simply cannot afford brand name originator drugs to respond to a crisis. In protection of public health, and "to promote access to medicines for all", the WTO TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of … [Read more...]
