Reports this morning from EDRI, a European digital rights group, indicate that Europe has now dropped demands to include ACTA-style intellectual property criminal provisions within the Canada – EU Trade Agreement. The inclusion of IP criminal provisions in CETA was the source of considerable outrage in Europe in the aftermath […]
Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441
Digital Trade
De Gucht Says “No Illusions” About Difficult CETA Issues
EU Commissioner Karel de Gucht says that there should be “no illusions” about the remaining difficult issues in the Canada – EU Trade Agreement, suggesting that completion by the end of the year remains uncertain. De Gucht indicated that CETA once included ACTA language, but says that has now been […]
The $2 Billion Big Pharma Giveaway in CETA: Can the Government Ignore Its Own Internal Analysis?
For months, big pharmaceutical companies (known as Rx&D) and civil society/the generic pharmaceutical industry have been battling over the issue. Each has released public opinion surveys that purport to demonstrate support for their position (Rx&D, civil society). More important has been a study that concluded that the proposed reforms could add billions to annual Canadian health care costs along with reports that show that the large pharmaceutical companies failed to meet research and development commitments the last time the Canadian government acquiesced to patent reform demands.
While Rx&D sought to downplay those studies (as did the government, which described these concerns as a myth), it now faces an internal government study conducted by Industry Canada and Health Canada that placed the costs of CETA patent reform as high as $2 billion per year. The $2 billion cost would significantly decrease the government’s claims of likely economic gains from CETA and heighten provincial opposition, since the costs will be offloaded to provincial health care budgets.
CETA Negotiations Continue Under Cloud of ACTA Concerns
Notwithstanding those reassurances, Canadian officials acknowledged the border measures issues were still unresolved. Moreover, days later a European briefing offered a somewhat different take on the copyright provisions. La Quadrature du Net, a leading European NGO, reports that the European Commission confirmed that the controversial criminal ACTA provisions were still included in the CETA draft.
The reports have sparked a wave of new concern (see here, here, here, here, and here) with suggestions that ACTA is “back from the dead in Europe.”
Government Study Finds CETA Drug Patent Reforms Would Cost Canadians Billions
The Canadian Press reports that an internal study by Industry Canada and Health Canada estimates that EU patent demands as part of the Canada – EU Trade Agreement could increase Canadian health care costs by up to $2 billion per year. The drug patent issue is viewed as a key […]
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