Radio New Zealand warns that a post-TPPA trade deal with the USA would lead to higher pharamceutical prices, as the US enforces the "right" of Big Pharma to price gouge:
New Zealand may have to swallow higher drug prices if it wants a trade deal with the United States.
US President Donald Trump had already set out one bottom line for a bilateral trade deal with prospective suitors: a 30-day break clause in agreements, which New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English called unattractive.
This week Mr Trump told American pharmaceutical executives that other countries had not paid their fair share, and US trade policy would change to ensure that happens.
"We're going to be ending global freeloading. Foreign price controls reduce the resources of American drug companies to finance drug and R&D innovation. I think you people know very well, it's very unfair to this country," Mr Trump said.
"Our trade policy will prioritize that foreign countries pay their fair share for US-manufactured drugs."
But why would we sign up for that? The TPPA was so loaded with American bullshit (longer copyright terms, regulatory subsidies to Big Pharma, and of course the investor-state disputes clause) that there was basicly nothing in it for New Zealand. It was a deal not worth doing. This would be even worse. So why would we even open negotiations, let alone agree to such a deal?
