[CTC] Negotiations on Pacific trade deal to go on another day

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Two articles below...


http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/04/business/economy-business/tpp-talks-extended-another-24-hours-japan-demands-u-s-find-drugs-compromise/#.VhAe-Pntmkp <http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/10/04/business/economy-business/tpp-talks-extended-another-24-hours-japan-demands-u-s-find-drugs-compromise/#.VhAe-Pntmkp>

TPP talks extended for 24 hours as nations try to reach compromise on next-generation drugs
REUTERS
ATLANTA – Japan called on the United States to find a way to break a deadlock over protections for next-generation medicines on Saturday as talks on a sweeping trade pact were extended for another 24 hours.
Negotiators have been up all night trying to broker a deal on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will create a free trade zone covering 40 percent of the world economy.
A push by the United States to set a longer period of exclusivity for drug makers who develop biological drugs like Genentech’s Avastin cancer-treatment has run into opposition from other TPP economies and is holding up a broader deal.
Economy minister Akira Amari said he had agreed to a U.S. request to stay on in Atlanta for another 24 hours, but said the U.S. had to find a way forward on biologics.
“I said there were two conditions for us to accept that proposal: First, this would be the last chance, in other words there had to be certainty of getting a deal on pharmaceuticals; second, because of the schedule, Japan could not accept any further extension,” Amari told reporters.
The United States allows pharmaceutical companies an exclusive period of 12 years to use clinical data behind the approval for a new biological drug.
The Obama administration had previously proposed lowering that threshold to seven years but has pushed a proposal for an eight-year minimum in the TPP talks in Atlanta.
Australia, along with others such as New Zealand and Chile, have been unwilling to offer more than five years protection for the medicines since longer terms will push up the cost of state-subsidized medical programs.
Drug companies argue that a longer period is needed to create an incentive for developing treatments for diseases such as cancer and arthritis.
The impasse is holding up a deal on dairy trade, the main other sticking point in the talks. New Zealand, home to the world’s biggest dairy exporter Fonterra, is insisting on increased access to U.S., Canadian and Japanese markets.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, whose party faces a general election later this month, said the talks had made progress.
“Let me assure everyone that we will only conclude a deal that is in the best interests of our country,” he told reporters in Montreal.
Harper’s Conservatives are on course to win the most seats in the Oct. 19 election but may lose their majority, and the main opposition party has said it would not feel itself bound by any TPP deal that Harper negotiated.
Canada’s parliament also would have to approve any TPP pact.
TPP trade ministers, most of whom arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday, had initially hoped to wrap up talks by Thursday.

Negotiations on Pacific trade deal to go on another day
http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Negotiations-on-Pacific-trade-deal-to-go-on-another-day?page=1 <http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Negotiations-on-Pacific-trade-deal-to-go-on-another-day?page=1>
 
ATLANTA -- Representatives from the 12 countries trying to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal have given themselves another 24 hours to make the trade pact happen, Japanese chief negotiator Akira Amari told reporters. As they continued last-minute efforts on Saturday morning in the U.S., the host country began sounding out Japan and other countries about extending the talks for another day.
 
    And with only a couple remaining contentious issues, including how long drug patents should last, that is exactly what happened.
 
     The negotiators, meeting here in the capital of the state of Georgia, had begun their fourth day of haggling hoping to conclude a deal in the afternoon.
 
     Several ministerial-level meetings were likely to take place, with chief negotiators on hand to work out details before or after these ministerial sessions. The 12 countries had hoped to deliver the outcome at a joint press conference later in the day.
 
     Up until Friday, trade negotiators were struggling with three issues -- drug patents, market access for dairy products and automobiles. Since then, representatives from relevant countries reached a broad agreement on tariff elimination rules regarding automobiles.
 
     The countries have agreed to remove tariffs on car exports as long as the local-content ratio for materials used in auto parts and finished cars is somewhere between a little less and a little more than 50%. "We will conclude a deal in such a way that we can secure the interests of Japanese carmakers," a Japanese official involved in the negotiations said on Friday.
 
     Meanwhile, New Zealand has significantly softened its stance on market access for dairy products. Up until now, the country had been calling for lower barriers for its dairy products. By Saturday, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was saying the TPP would greatly benefit his country even if he couldn't gain more progress on the issue.
 
     New Zealand had long gotten nowhere in negotiations with the U.S. on the issue. But observers expect New Zealand to offer a compromise and for the U.S. to eventually also make concessions.
 
     The U.S., meanwhile, is arguing that a final TPP agreement include an eight-year patent protection period for drugs. This is the most contentious issue. Australia has stuck to its call for five years, and the parties involved are still working to find a compromise.
 
     While negotiators from Australia and the U.S. were arguing their positions, a senior U.S. lawmaker -- any pact would have to be passed by the legislature of each country -- said an eight-year patent period is unacceptable. The remark is an example of how divisive the TPP is and an indicator that even if negotiators reach a deal, passage is far from certain.
 
The 12 countries are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the U.S.



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