EU Announces ‘Positive Agenda’ On Trade For Rio +10
In a press release issued on 2 July outlining its priorities for the upcoming World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, the EU announced that it was aiming at fashioning "ways and means" to build upon progress made in trade at Doha and in aid at Monterrey (see BRIDGES Weekly, 26 March 2002) last year. In what it termed a "positive agenda", the EU said it is suggesting supportive measures for developing countries, including the integration of sustainability parameters into regional and bilateral agreements and preferential trade schemes, commitments from all countries to duty- and quota free market access for all products originating in least developed countries, the promotion of markets for organic produce, environmentally friendly products and "fair trade", measures to enhance the transparency of domestic trade procedures, the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies and the further development and support for sustainable impact assessments (SIAs). Further, the EU is proposing ways for developing countries to gain from sustainable development through foreign direct investment (FDI) initiatives, including the promotion of corporate social responsibility and export credits to encourage environmentally and socially sound investment.
The EC press release is available at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/csc/pr_020702.htm.
"The EU agenda for the World Summit on Sustainable Development", EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESS RELEASE, 02 July 2002.
Mexico Courts S. America With Free Trade
Responding to recent weak economic signals from the US, Mexico over the past month has actively sought to improve its trade links with its southern neighbours. On 10 July, Mexico and Uruguay began free trade talks and expect to be able to sign a free trade accord before the end of the year, while on 5 July, Mexican president Vicente Fox signed an agreement with the Mercosur nations of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, pledging to create a regional free trade zone. "It doesn’t make sense that our bilateral trade doesn’t even amount to three percent of the region’s commerce," Fox told local media during his tour of South America. While in Uruguay, Fox told Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle that Mexico could serve as a springboard for Uruguayan goods to enter the US market, to which Mexico has preferential access via the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Previously, Mexican and Central American leaders agreed on 28 June to push ahead with a plan for regional development through a series of public and private sector partnerships aimed at increasing trade and building infrastructure (see BRIDGES Weekly, 3 July 2002), and on 12 June, Brazil and Mexico — Latin America’s two largest economies — concluded a bilateral trade pact that the signatories hope will ultimately cover sectors representing USD 30 billion in trade for the two countries (see BRIDGES Weekly, 20 June 2002).
"Uruguay, Mexico Opt for Fast Track to Free Trade Deal," EFE, 10 July 2002; "Mexico, Mercosur Pledge Free Trade Pact Within One Year," ASSOCIATED PRESS, 6 July 2002.
WHO Approves Second Indian Company For Generic Aids Drugs
On 10 July, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that three drugs produced by Indian pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy Laboratories — Zidovudine, Nevirapine and Lamivudine — were fit for use in HIV/AIDS prevention programmes. The company will now become a pre-qualified supplier of these products to the WHO. Ranbaxy is the second Indian company to receive the approval after Cipla, which produces AIDS drugs several times cheaper than US firms. In India, companies can legally produce drugs by using different techniques than those established by the patent-holding companies, as India recognises patents on the drug making process rather than on the products themselves. Issues related to generic drug production continue to attract attention at the WTO, where Members are discussing (in the context of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPs and Health) how countries with little or no manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceutical sector can make effective use of compulsory licensing (see BRIDGES Weekly, 3 July 2002; http://www.ictsd.org/weekly/02-07-03/story1.htm).
"India’s Ranbaxy gets WHO approval for generic AIDS drugs," Associated Press, 10 July 2002.