MSF calls on RCEP Ministerial meeting to address 'damaging' IP provisions

As the trade ministers of the 16 countries negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) meet in Laos on August 5 to resolve differences that are holding back negotiations, international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is calling for the removal of damaging intellectual property provisions – known as TRIPS-plus provisions – that would lock in high drug prices and endanger the health of millions of people across the globe. These provisions include patent term extensions, data exclusivity, and excessive intellectual property enforcement.

RCEP is a regional trade agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea. RCEP countries are home to nearly half of the world’s population, including some of the most marginalized communities living in the three least-developed countries taking part in the trade negotiations. To date, 13 rounds of negotiations have taken place, with the next round of negotiations to be held in Vietnam between August 15 and 19

“The leaked text of the draft intellectual property chapter reveals that Japan and South Korea are pushing for the adoption of harmful intellectual property provisions which will extend pharmaceutical corporation monopoly protection beyond what is required by agreements under the World Trade Organization. These proposed provisions are similar to those proposed in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which is considered the worst trade deal ever for access to medicines,” said Leena Menghaney, head of South Asia, MSF Access Campaign.