US barred from drug reprisal
The United States is prohibited from retaliatory action over Thailand's decision to ignore patents on some expensive American-made drugs, a senior Commerce Ministry official said yesterday.
World Trade Organisation rules protect Thailand from US trade action over the move, the official said.The government invoked compulsory licensing on some expensive HIV/Aids and heart-disease drugs using WTO rules, the source explained. The official, who asked not to be named, said the government could lodge a WTO complaint if it determined the US had downgraded Thailand's intellectual-property-rights rating over the drug issue. Thailand is now on the US priority watch list, a level lower than in previous years, meaning Thailand will be closely monitored for intellectual-property-rights violations. The downgrade comes with associated cuts in tariff privileges on exports awarded under the Generalised System of Preferences. Many believe the downgrade was a response to the compulsory licensing. The source said the government had followed WTO rules and the US was forbidden to take tit-for-tat action.
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