The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 7 of 14)

The decisions regarding the compulsory licensing for these drugs were in the works for a long time. This action was going to happen with or without the coup. The current government was completely ignorant of this issue until the ministry responsible, the Thai FDA, took the decision.

Moreover, while this is an issue that may have put Thailand in the headlines again, it is not exclusive to Thailand, but something that is a growing issue for poorer countries generally. The ethical arguments surrounding this action can hardly be extrapolated to most products, thus should not be seen as indicative of any growing Thai trend to (further) thumb its nose at intellectual property rights generally.

Thailand's action was not unanticipated by the pharmaceutical industry, and they indeed will be looking for the WTO to back them up as poorer countries look for ways to increase access to expensive, life-saving drugs. That was where TRIPS came from, and it's time to see how well it works. It's little different from establishing case law for any other new statute. Thailand has its interpretation of TRIPS and the pharmaceutical companies theirs. It's up to the WTO now?

As far as the authors' reference to DVD piracy, this is a tired argument and hardly specific to Thailand.

p>Lastly, the shifting of foreign investment out of Thailand to Vietnam and elsewhere is not news either, as it has been under way for many years. Thailand's ebbing competitiveness has nothing to do with the junta, though the generals have been offering fuel to the fire -- just not for the reasons described in this article. br> -- Tom Sherman br> Bangkok, Thailand /p> p> AT YOUR SERVICE br> Re: The Washington Prowler's Rich Man, Power Man : /p>

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