Huffington Post: TPP: Still a Terrible Deal for Poor People’s Health
Manica Balasegaram, executive director of Médecins Sans Frontières’ Access Campaign

“…The ability to manufacture and/or purchase low-cost generic medicines requires maintaining a balance in a country’s patent system between monopoly protection and public health. Yet, the [Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)] will reduce or eliminate that balance by curtailing existing legal flexibilities, and limiting government discretion to negotiate medicine prices. Under existing international trade rules negotiated less than 20 years ago, which implemented the strictest IP global norms in history, countries were assured of the right to use basic legal safeguards to facilitate generic competition to protect public health. With the TPP, the U.S. government is attempting to re-write the rules. … For the health and well-being of at least 800 million people, countries must reject these terms” (7/14).