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WTO Agreements and Public Health, the First of Its Kind

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WTO Agreements and Public Health, the First of Its Kind This publication is also available in French and Spanish (Price: SFr 30.-) WHO ISBN 92 4 156214 5 WTO ISBN 92-870-1223-7 Printed by the WTO Secretariat VII-2002-6,000 © World Trade Organization / World Health Organization, 2002 FOREWORD 1 FOREWORD BY GRO HARLEM BRUNDTLAND AND MIKE MOORE As the world becomes increasingly integrated, it becomes less and less possible for different policy areas to be handled independently of each other. The linkage between trade and health has been the focus of much debate: real concerns should be dealt with and any misunderstandings should be clarified based on sound evidence and rigor- ous analysis. We consider this joint study by the WHO and the WTO Secretariat a useful and timely initiative in this regard. It illustrates that there is much common ground between trade and health. Another important message is that health and trade policymakers can bene- fit from closer cooperation to ensure coherence between their different areas of responsibilities. In both the WHO and the WTO questions of trade and public health feature high on the agenda, and significant advances have been made in the recent past. The endorse- ment by the international community of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health is a very visible expression of governments' commitment to ensuring that the rules-based trading system is compatible with public health interests. The multilateral trading system has a lot to contribute to increase global welfare. In addition, the expertise and work of other organizations are needed to find effective solutions. In our common pursuit of sustainable human development, the WTO and the WHO are important partners. We are honoured to present this joint study on WTO Agreements and public health, the first of its kind. It is an encouraging testimony of our good and growing cooperation. WTO AGREEMENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report was jointly prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WHO team was led by Nick Drager and included Robert Beaglehole, Debra Lipson, Zafar Mirza and early input from Matthew Hodge. Information on country health-trade cooperation was kindly provided by Suwit Wibulpolprasert of Thailand's Ministry of Health, and Jake Vellinga of Health Canada. Many WHO staff in Geneva headquarters and six regional offices supplied helpful information and comments at various stages of the report's preparation. We especially thank Orvill Adams, Thiru Balasubramaniam, Douglas Bettcher, William Cocksedge, Sarah England, Dr F.X. Meslin, Julie Milstein, André Prost, Yasuyuki Sahara, Jorgen Schlundt, German Velasquez and Derek Yach for their valuable contributions. WHO's input benefited from the comments of experts around the world, working in government health agencies, academic institutions, and civil society organizations. The WHO team also would like to thank Andrew Cassels, Ann Kern, David Nabarro, Poonam Khetrapal Singh, and Eva Wallstam for their support. The principal coordinator for the WTO contribution was Deputy Director-General Miguel Rodríguez Mendoza with the assistance of Erik Wijkstrom and Alexander Keck. Inputs and com- ments were provided by Rolf Adlung, John Finn, David Hartridge, Marion Jansen, Pieter Jan Kuijper, Vivien Liu, João Magelhães, Hamid Mamdouh, Gabrielle Marceau, Doaa Abdel Motaal, Laoise Ni Bhriain, Adrian Otten, Gretchen Stanton, Thu-Lang Tran-Wasescha, Peter Ungphakorn, Jayashree Watal and Frank Wolter. With respect to the WTO, this study has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of WTO Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. The opinions expressed in this report should be attributed to the authors and not to the institu- tions they represent. WTO AGREEMENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD . .1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . .11 I. INTRODUCTION . .23 II. THE WTO AGREEMENTS RELEVANT TO HEALTH . .25 A. INTRODUCTION . .25 (i) The institution . .25 (ii) Structure . .25 (iii) Objective . .26 (iv) Basic function . .26 (v) Membership and accession . .28 B. KEY WTO PRINCIPLES . .28 (i) Most-favoured-nation (MFN): treating other WTO Members equally . .29 (ii) National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally . .29 (iii) The MFN principle and public health . .30 (iv) Health exceptions in GATT and GATS . .30 C. TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE . .32 1. The TBT Agreement . .32 (i) Overall objective, purpose of Agreement, and scope . .32 (ii) Principles . .33 (iii) Examples as applied to health . .33 (iv) Use of international health standards . .33 (v) Review of the TBT Agreement . .34 2. The SPS Agreement . .34 (i) Rationale for the SPS Agreement . .34 (ii) SPS directly relevant to health . .35 (iii) Difference in coverage compared to TBT Agreement . .35 (iv) Why is it important which Agreement applies? . .36 (v) Scientific justification . .37 (vi) Provisional measures . .37 (vii) Review . .38 D. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND TRADE (TRIPS) . .38 (i) Provisions for public health protection . .41 (ii) What are Member governments' obligations with respect to pharmaceutical patents under TRIPS? . .42 WTO AGREEMENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH 6 (iii) A patent is not a permit to put a product on a market . .44 (iv) Research exception and "Bolar" provisions . .44 (v) Compulsory licensing and government use . .45 (vi) Parallel imports and "exhaustion" of rights . .45 (vii) Developing countries' transition periods - Year 2000 for most . .46 E. SERVICES (GATS) . .47 (i) GATS general obligations . .49 (ii) Country options for GATS commitments in health services . .50 F. SOLVING DISPUTES . .52 III. SPECIFIC HEALTH ISSUES AND WTO AGREEMENTS . .57 A. INTRODUCTION . .57 B. INFECTIOUS DISEASE CONTROL . .58 (i) The link between trade and infectious disease control . .58 (ii) International Health Regulations (IHR) - a global regulatory framework . .59 (iii) Trade rules are unlikely to restrict governments' actions to control infectious diseases, but do impose some disciplines … . .59 (iv) Revising the IHR to cope with new threats to health . .61 C. FOOD SAFETY . .62 (i) Global incidence of food borne disease… . .62 (ii) … and the link to trade . .63 (iii) The SPS Agreement is perhaps the closest "match" between a health issue (in this case food safety) and trade . .65 (iv) How is the WTO "used" to address food safety concerns? . .65 (v) The use of "precaution" in food safety . .67 (vi) Challenges for the future . .68 (vii) Safety of Genetically Modified Products (GMOs) . .69 D. TOBACCO CONTROL . .71 (i) The threat . .71 (ii) Openness to trade may increase consumption of tobacco . .71 (iii) Tobacco control policies . .72 (iv) Tobacco dispute: an example of the application of trade rules . .73 (v) Links between WTO Agreements and Tobacco Policies . .75 (vi) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control - a new international health treaty . .76 WTO AGREEMENTS AND PUBLIC HEALTH 7 (vii) The FCTC negotiations are a good example of the need for international cooperation . .77 E. ENVIRONMENT . .77 (i) The link between environment, health and trade . .77 (ii) "Like products" . .79 (iii) The Asbestos Case - public health takes precedence over trade . .82 (iv) Domestically prohibited goods . .84.
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