Front Page	E-mail PagePrint Version

Proposal would most benefit developing countries battling AIDS, malaria, and TB

GENEVA, Switzerland - 02/28/06 - The US has joined Switzerland and Singapore in introducing a proposal that would completely eliminate the tariffs imposed on the global trade in medicines and medical devices.
 
The joint proposal calls for the elimination of tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade in medicines and medical devices as part of the World Trade Organization's non-agriculture market access agenda.
 
According to United Nations statistics, almost $33 billion in pharmaceuticals and $23 billion in medical equipment are still traded subject to duty, predominantly by developing countries.

A recent research paper published by the AEI-Brookings Joint Center in Washington, DC concluded that several countries inflate the price of medicines to patients by around 10% and often higher.

Researchers Roger Bate of AEI and Richard Tren and Jasson Urbach of Africa Fighting Malaria, a South Africa-based NGO, recently uncovered what they call "a significant inverse relationship" between the level of import tariffs and access to medicines.
 
The relationship "is even stronger when one analyzes the effect of import tariffs on vaccines and rates of immunization," they said.

Last year, a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that many countries, many of which are grappling with severe public health problems such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, continue to impose import tariffs on medicines and medical devices.
 
The agency "urges countries to remove these tariffs and argues that the loss of government revenue will be insignificant."

With increased international travel and trade, "healthcare of all nations is now increasingly connected," said a statement released by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

"Removing tariffs on medicines and medical devices, such as essential diagnostic equipment, will assist all countries in tackling both emerging and existing health problems," it said, adding "support for this proposal would improve development and public health and advance the aims of the Doha Development Agenda."

Go back, or read the latest Front Page stories:

Korea, US Free Trade Pact ''Possible'' by Early 2007

WASHINGTON, DC – 10/25/06 – A free trade pact between the US and South Korea could become a reality by early 2007, says chief US negotiator Wendy Cutler at the opening of this week’s fourth round of talks between the two countries; since the two sides launched FTA negotiations in February they have reported little progress even though they postponed consideration of the most politically sensitive issues, such as US access to the Korean rice market.