TRIPS-Plus IP demands from EU could halt South American trade deal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Free trade negotiations between the EU and the Latin American trade bloc Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) are at a standstill, in part at least because of demands from the EU that Mercosur introduce tougher measures to protect intellectual property rights. At a time when Brazil is endeavouring to become more self-sufficient in pharmaceutical production and Argentina is imposing bans on drug importation (scripintelligence.com, 6 June 2011), it is unsurprising that Mercosur opposes EU proposals for 5-year patent extension for drugs and 10-year data exclusivity.