TPP talks stalled until 2014
Countries negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal in which intellectual property is a hotly-debated topic, have missed their deadline to wrap up talks by the end of 2013.
The 12 countries negotiating the TPP will meet again in January 2014, after announcing on December 10 that talks in Singapore had not yielded a final agreement.
But in a statement, published by the US Trade Representative (USTR), the parties said they have identified potential “landing zones” for the majority of key outstanding issues and will continue to “work with flexibility” to finalise them.
Led by the US, the TPP is being negotiated by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Negotiations have been kept private, but in November whistle-blowing website Wikileaks published a chapter covering IP. The 95-page document contains provisions that would extend pharmaceutical patents in some cases and exempt copyright infringement for certain “lawfully authorised” activity.
Due to its secrecy and more controversial provisions, the TPP has been heavily criticised by some groups. Wikileaks leader Julian Assange said it would “trample over individual rights and free expression”, while Medicins Sans Frontières bemoaned “some of the harshest provisions” against access to medicines ever included in a trade agreement with developing countries.
After the stalling of the talks was announced, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) claimed the TPP negotiating parties had revealed the news in a “closed” press conference in Singapore.
“The closed press conference itself was representative of the needless secrecy surrounding the negotiation of this agreement. While the TPP ministers laid out the new timeline and opened the floor to questions, public interest groups were limited to the lobby of the building – not even allowed to stand in the back of the room and watch,” the EFF said.
“Of course, the announcement also comes just days after a leaked document showed major rifts in the positions of different countries and highlighted a number of substantive proposals where the United States has failed to secure international support for its stances.
“The TPP ministers announced ‘substantial progress’ in the agreement, but no firm explanation of how the situation had changed since the release of those documents,” the EFF stated.
The documents referred to were published in December by the Huffington Post, which said there were 119 unresolved issues on IP matters.
Even if it progresses next year, the TPP may face political hurdles, at least in the US, said Rodney Sweetland, partner at Duane Morris LLP, as US politicians would be very unlikely to pass a trade deal in 2014.
“In the US we’re coming up to an election (mid-term) year in 2014, and we have the Goodlatte patent bill (Innovation Act), which looks like it will probably pass in some version, as it has overwhelming support. If it passes, it’s not certain whether there will be any oxygen left to focus on IP and trade in the run up to the election,” he said.
“We can’t even pass a budget, let alone a trade bill,” he added.
While he admitted the TPP has been controversial, Sweetland said there are still benefits for poorer countries.
“Everyone benefits from this deal: developed countries get to expand their markets and IP rights, while developing countries have access to developed markets.
“Like most agreements, people benefit to a certain degree. Developed countries benefit more, but we have a greater stake in the IP system,” he said.
