Source: Public Citizen
From September 6 to 15, negotiators from the nine TPP countries convened at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, VA for the 14th round of trade talks.
Access to medicines
The IP-maximalist and access-restrictive proposal advanced by the USTR on patents and pharmaceuticals was still not addressed in Leesburg. These extreme provisions have held up negotiations and have not been debated at the IP table since the 12th round in Dallas, TX(some have not been addressed since the 11th round in Melbourne).
n Leesburg, USTR tabled a refined proposal for the annex on transparency rules for national drug pricing and reimbursement programs. While details are not known, there is concern that the proposal does not substantially improve upon the previous text.
A comparative done by Public Citizen on Patent Link Provisions between previous US agreements and TPP agreement can be accessed here
The next round of negotiations will take place in New Zealand in December.
