U.S. Free Trade Agreements

On November 4, 2002, United States Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick formally notified Congressional leaders of the Administration's intent to initiate negotiations for a free trade agreement with the nations of the South African Customs Union: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland. To meet "standards of protection similar to that found in U.S. law," SACU nations would be required to limit compulsory licenses to national emergencies or to governmental, non-commercial use only. They would be required to bar parallel trade, to extend patent monopolies for administrative delays, and to link drug registration rights to patent status. Finally these nations would be required to enhance protections for clinical trial testing data and to adopt criminal enforcement for patent violations, including improvidently granted compulsory licenses. In sum, the proposed negotiation objectives would completely eviscerate the Doha flexibilities, dramatically increase IP protection, and shamefully reduce access to more affordable generic products.